ABSTRACT

That nations dwell in eternal anarchy has been one of the defining assumptions that have shaped the socialisation of several generations of students of international relations. While political struggle inside the state takes place in the shadow of the law (conceived as the sovereign’s command), this mediation was thought to be absent in the international arena. However, the demise of the Soviet Union and the increase in the volume, scope and speed of transnational interactions challenged this traditional assumption of anarchy and non-co-operation. Departing from the presumption that war was now a less plausible defining characteristic of the international arena, and the subsequent subversion of the foundational distinction between “internal” and “external” arenas, it was naturally tempting to conceive of these fundamental changes as constituting a transformation of the international system into a global or “world society”. This chapter will consider to what extent this argument is valid.