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INTERSTATE
SYSTEM
 INTERSTATE SYSTEM
REALIST PARADIGM
Most studies of war that take the
interstate system as the unit of analysis
begin with assumptions from the
'realist' paradigm.
ANARCHIC Realist Paradigm - The Realist
paradigm focuses on states in their
The most important feature of the relations with one another.
interstate system is that it is anarchic.
Anarchic - Anarchic means not
following or having any laws or
SECURITY
rules, and being wild and
uncontrolled.
Since an anarchic system is one in
which all states constantly face actual
or potential threats, their main goal is
security. Security can only be achieved
in such a system by maintaining power
HOBBESIAN 'STATE OF
NATURE.
Unlike politics within states,
relations between states take place
in a Hobbesian 'state of nature.
Hobbesian State of Nature - The
Hobbesian state of nature is a
constant and violent condition of
competition in which each
individual has a natural right to
everything, regardless of the
interests of others
 REALIST THEORY
THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWER IN THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IS THE
MAIN DETERMINANT OF THE FREQUENCY OF WAR

Although all realist theories agree on the importance of power

distribution in determining war, they disagree about which types of
power distribution make war more likely. Balance-of-power theories
(Morgenthau 1967) suggest that an equal distribution of power in the
system facilitates peace and that unequal power distributions lead to
war.

When one state begins to gain a preponderance of power in the system, a coalition of
weaker states will form to maintain their security by blocking the further expansion of the
powerful state.
WHAT IS INTERSTATE
SYSTEM?
The Oxford English Dictionary
It defines 'system' to be (1) a set or assemblage of things In studies of international politics, the
conception of 'system' has been used
connected, associated, or interdependent, so as to form a mainly in two ways: international
complex unity, or (2) a whole composed of parts in orderly system, and world system(s).
arrangement according to some scheme or plan.

Wallerstein. The Politics of the World-Economy. pp. 33–34.

The ideology of the interstate system is sovereign equality, and while the system generally
presents a set of constraints on the power of individual states, states within the system are
"neither sovereign nor equal”. Not only do strong states impose their will on weak states, strong
states also impose limitations upon other strong states, and tend to seek strengthened
international rules, since enforcing consequences for broken rules can be highly beneficial and
confer comparative advantages.

An interstate system has been emerging in East Asia since the early 1990s. In this system, all nations are
now equals. Among the member states, the economic stratification (divided into social classes) is
collapsing rapidly.
INTERNATIONAL
SYSTEM
The term 'international system' is a concept for analysis or
description of international politics.

A society of states (or international society)

A system of states (or international exists when a group of states, conscious of
system) is formed when two or more certain common interests and common
states have sufficient contact between values, form a society in the sense that they
them, and have sufficient impact on one conceive themselves to be bound by a
another's decisions, to cause them to common set of rules in their relations with
behave at least in some measure - as one another, and share in the working of
parts of a whole (Bull 1977:9-10). common institutions (Bull 1977: 13).

H. BULL If we borrow Bull's H. BULL

ARGUMENT concepts, international ARGUMENT
relations have been
rapidly changing from
international system to
international society in
the post-Cold War era.
 WORLD SYSTEM
World-systems theory focuses on the importance of the world as a unit, rather than
looking at individual countries. It divides the world in to three regions: core
countries, periphery countries, and semi-periphery countries.

Periphery countries are those in Latin

America and Africa, and tend to have a Semi-periphery countries like India
Core countries include areas like
relatively weak government. They tend to and Brazil make up the middle
Western Europe and the United
depend on only one type of economic ground between Core and Periphery.
States. These countries have a strong
activity like extracting raw materials. They are often not dominant in
central government with enough tax
There's a high percentage of poor and international trade but they have a
to support it. They are economically
uneducated people, as well as a small relatively diversified and developed
diversified, industrialized, and
upper class which controls most of the economy. These semi-periphery
relatively independent of outside
economy. And this creates a huge countries can come either from
control. They have strong middle and
inequality in the population. These Periphery countries moving up
working classes, and focus on higher
countries are greatly influenced by core toward the industrialized Core
scope production of material goods
countries and transnational corporations. countries, or from Core countries
rather than raw materials.
Which can harm the future economic
declining toward Periphery status.
potentials of the periphery countries.
 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
Realist Paradigm - The Realist paradigm focuses on states in their relations with
one another. The theory is situational in that it seeks to explain outcomes and
actions of states in terms of the environment; in particular, realists like to look to
shifting power capabilities to explain international conflict and war. (Washinton
faculty)

Anarchic - Anarchic means not following or having any laws or rules,and being
wild and uncontrolled. (Britannica)

Hobbesian State of Nature - The Hobbesian state of nature is a constant and

violent condition of competition in which each individual has a natural right to
everything, regardless of the interests of others (Britannica). Тhе stаtе оf nаturе
аrgumеnt suggеsts thаt реорlе wоuld nаturаllу dо whаtеvеr wаs nесеssаrу tо
оbtаіn thеіr wаnts аnd dеsіrеs wіthоut соnsіdеrіng thе соnsеquеnсеs оf thеіr
асtіоns; thеrе аrе nо іnnаtе mоrаl vаluеs thаt соntrоl реорlе’s асtіоns nоr іs thеrе
рurе gооd оr еvіl (Rachels,80).
GLOBAL
GOVERNANCE
 WHAT IS GLOBAL
GOVERNANCE?
It is the sum of laws, norms, policies, and
institutions that define, constitute, and mediate
relations between citizens, societies, markets, and
states in the international system-the wielders
and objects of the exercise of international public
power". Thakur & Weiss (2015)
Global governance is understood as the way in which
global affairs are managed. As there is no global
government, global governance typically involves a range
of actors including states, as well as regional and
international organizations. However, a single organization
may nominally be given the lead role on an issue, for
example, the World Trade Organization in world trade
affairs.

Global governance is a product of neo-liberal paradigm shifts

in international political and economic relations. The
privileging of capital and market mechanisms over state
authority created governance gaps that have encouraged
actors from private and civil society sectors to assume
authoritative roles previously considered the purview of the
State.
THEORIES
Some scholars argue that global governance as it is practiced is not
working (Coen and Pegram, 2015: 417), while others believe that global
governance is constantly adapting by readjusting strategies and
approaches to solutions and developing new tools and measures to deal

ABOUT
with issues that impact communities throughout the world (Held and
Hale, 2011).

According to Lawrence Finkelstein, "We say 'governance' because we don't

GLOBAL
really know what to call what is going on."9 In this section, we Klaus
Dingwerth and Philipp Pattberg 187 test this claim against the
background of the use of the term global governance in contemporary
academic writings.

GOVERNANCE As Thomas Weiss has observed, "Many academics and international

practitioners employ 'governance' to connote a complex set of structures
and processes, both public and private, while more popular writers tend
to use it synonymously with 'government'."

CRITICISM
Critics argue that global governance mechanisms support the neo-liberal
ideology of globalization and reduce the role of the state (and thus its
sovereignty) to that of an adjusting body for the implementation of
international policies. Some argue that, as a result, the interests of the
poorest people and nations will be ignored unless they have a direct
impact on the global economy."
 FIVE PARTICULAR GAPS IN
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
1. Knowledge gaps are important because if we do not know the severity of a problem, or if we don't
have the resources to investigate a particular issue, then this could become difficult for effective
global governance.

2. Normative Gaps follow knowledge gaps. After we understand that an issue exists, it is important to
establish (and develop) norms to address that problem.

3. Policy Gaps are related to the specifically policies that one can implement in order to address the
stated problem.

4. Institutional Gaps are the challenges of implementing any policies that are put forth by the
international community.

5. Compliance Gaps are one of the final challenges with regards to global governance.

As Thomas Weiss has observed, "Many academics and international practitioners employ 'governance' to connote a complex
set of structures and processes, both public and private, while more popular writers tend to use it synonymously with
'government'.