ABSTRACT
But this approach is appropriate only to stable periods be-
cause then the various components of the international system
generally have similar conceptions of the "rules of the game."
If the domestic structures are based on commensurable notions
of what is just, a consensus about permissible aims and methods
of foreign policy develops. If domestic structures are reason-
ably stable, temptations to use an adventurous foreign policy to
achieve domestic cohesion are at a minimum. In these condi-
tions, leaders will generally apply the same criteria and hold
similar views about what constitutes a "reasonable" demand.
