ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the features of current international system, characterized as it is by imperialism, the growing number of new states, efforts toward political and economic integration, polarization, proxy war, growing economic inequalities between the 'have' and 'have-not' states, and power diffusion within the traditional blocs. Imperialism has been a part of the international system for a long time. Although there have been many attempts to justify imperialism in the past, the smaller states consider it the cause of many of the world's tragedies, including much of their own economic and political predicament today. Integration, a process whereby states are unified into more extensive units, is an important feature of the modern international system, especially with respect to some of the older and larger states. The fourth feature of the changing international system is the polarization of the major powers into blocs. The new system is divided between two major blocs headed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
