GLOBAL SOCIETY AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE THEORETICAL, HISTORICAL, AND POLITICAL LIMITS OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

In: Millennium: journal of international studies, Band 21, Heft 1, S. 421-434

Abstract

THE AUTHOR SUBJECTS THE CONCEPT OF "INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY" TO A CRITICAL SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS. HE ARGUES THAT TO DESCRIBE THE CONSENSUAL TENDENCIES WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM IN TERMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY IS TO ENGAGE IN A FALSE ABSTRACTION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FROM SOCIAL RELATIONS IN GENERAL. TENDENCIES TOWARDS NORMATIVE INTEGRATION IN INTER-STATE RELATIONS SHOULD BE SEEN AS COMPONENTS OF THE GENERAL TREND TOWARDS GLOBALIZATION. THE CONCEPT OF GLOBAL SOCIETY RATHER THAN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY SHOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF THEORETICAL ENDEAVORS. THE LIMITATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY APPROACH ARE DEMONSTRATED IN THE GULF AND YUGOSLAV CRISES, WHICH IT FAILS TO UNDERSTAND ADEQUATELY, THEREBY LIMITING WESTERN RESPONSES.