The turnaround of the world

(First published in French in Le Retournement du monde, 1992, pp 11-19.) The international system has become the most unstable of all political systems. Made up of an infinite number of units that are evolving without us knowing how to extract laws from it or plot its future. When the nation-state t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geopolitics 2000-10, Vol.5 (2), p.85-93
Main Authors: Badie, Bertrand, Smouts, Marie-Claude
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural Pluralism
International Relations
International system
Multiculturalism
Non-state actors
Peace of Westphalia
Pluralism
Political Change
Political instability
Political Systems
State
States (Political Subdivisions)
Territoriality
Territory
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Summary:(First published in French in Le Retournement du monde, 1992, pp 11-19.) The international system has become the most unstable of all political systems. Made up of an infinite number of units that are evolving without us knowing how to extract laws from it or plot its future. When the nation-state triumphed in Europe, notably with the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), a de facto international system was formed that resulted only from the composition of political orders emanating from internal driving forces. The spread of a homogeneous territorial order has in particular led to the universalization of the national model & to the division of space into finite territories that are institutionalized & presented as legitimate. The picture has now changed. The numerous signs of a decline in the capacity of states inevitably undermine the quality of civil obedience & therefore the quality of their international action. The international space is thus gradually given over to an explosive dynamic fueled by a cultural pluralism that becomes more powerful every day, while actually being crossed, traveled, & indeed articulated by constant transnational flows that are increasingly active & structuring. These changing & deteriorating conditions call for an effort to reconstruct knowledge & practices. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1465-0045
1557-3028
DOI:10.1080/14650040008407681