Bulletin n. 2-3/2012 | ||
October 2012-February 2013 | ||
Donnelly Jack |
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The differentiation of international societies: An approach to structural international theory | ||
in European Journal of International Relations , vol. 18, n. 1, march , 2012 , 151-176 | ||
ABSTRACT: Taking off from a recent article in this journal by Barry Buzan and Mathias Albert, I present a framework of structural differentiation as an alternative to IR’s standard tripartite conception of the elements of structure. Rather than employ ideal type models, though, as Buzan and Albert do, I present a more open-textured, multidimensional account of differentiation. I also emphasize the systemic nature of structural analysis. The elements of structure are interdependent parts of wholes (systems) — not the independent variables implied by standard formulations such as ‘the effects of anarchy’. A multidimensional systemic approach directs our attention to the diversity of and change in international systems and their structures, which mainstream structural IR typically ignores or obscures. I illustrate both the regularity of extensive structural change and the analytical utility of my differentiation framework with case studies of post-World War II international society and contemporary processes of globalization. | ||