On the concept of international disorder

Bibliographic Data

ID4443949
AuthorsAaron C Mckeil (0000-0003-1649-0019, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue2
Pages197-215
Publication date2021-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-1178 • E-ISSN: 1741-2862
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0047117820922289
OpenAlexW3028219928
LanguageEN
Citations received15

International relations today are widely considered to be experiencing deepening disorder and the topic of international disorder is gaining increased attention. Yet, despite this recent interest in international disorder, in and beyond the academy, and despite the decades-long interest in international order, there is still little agreement on the concept of international disorder, which is often used imprecisely and with an alarmist rather than analytical usage. This is a problem if international disorder is to be understood in theory, towards addressing its concomitant problems and effects in practice. As such, this article identifies and explores two ways international order studies can benefit from a clearer and more precise conception of international disorder. First, it enables a more complete picture of how orderly international orders have been. Second, a greater understanding of the problem of international order is illuminated by a clearer grasp of the relation between order and disorder in world politics. The article advances these arguments in three steps. First, an analytical concept of international disorder is developed and proposed. Second, applying it to the modern history of international order, the extent to which there is a generative relationship between order and disorder in international systems is explored. Third, it specifies the deepening international disorder in international affairs today. It concludes by indicating a research agenda for International Relations and international order studies that takes the role of international disorder more seriously

Economics · International relations · International relations theory · International studies · Order (exchange) · Order and disorder · Political science · Politics · Relation (database) · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

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