ABSTRACT
The role of non-state actors and authority in a globalising system deserves to be studied carefully. Ever-increasing socio-economic interdependence implies greater competition among states and firms, which in turn leads almost inevitably to an increased potential for conflicts. Among non-state actors on the international scene, traditional intergovernmental institutions and regimes are called to play a leading role in ensuring the conditions for a mutually beneficial global system, as they provide the rules which preside over international exchanges as well as a forum for the settlement of disputes between states.
