ABSTRACT
Stanley Hoffmann developed a resounding critique of the so-called Reagan Doctrine, while in the process—ai d more importantly—analyzing the ethical foundations of international law and world order, particularly with respect to superpower relations. Political science regime theorists have established the critical importance of international law and organizations to the areas of international trade, monetary policy, human rights, natural resources and the environment. A basic knowledge of the rules of international law would have helped an analyst to unravel the true purpose of the Reagan administration’s foreign policy toward that country. Political science regime theorists have pointed out the critical importance of a Hobbesian “hegemon” for the creation of an international regime. International law and organizations are no panacea for the numerous problems of contemporary international relations. But they do provide one promising medium for extricating the American foreign policy decision-making establishment from the oppressive Hobbesian morass that has enmired it for at least the past three decades.
