A New Age in International Relations?

Abstract

The remarkable events of the last two years have given substance to the idea that we are in a new age of international relations. The collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the conclusion of the I990 CFE treaty on conventional forces in Europe, the end of the Warsaw Pact as an operational body, the unification of Germany, the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait by an alliance acting with the authorization of the United Nations-all this seems to have changed the political landscape irreversibly.' Many people have found these events, because they seemed highly improbable only two years ago, not only interesting and in some cases welcome, but also disorienting. Familiar compass-points have disappeared. It is not just that facts have changed, but also that existing interpretations of the international system are challenged. There is a sense that we are living in a time which is fundamentally different from all past eras. In these circumstances, naturally, there is no shortage of ideas to the effect that the contemporary international system is in a state of fundamental transformation. Some of these 'transformational ' ideas have gained a good deal of currency around the world. Among them are the following: (i) The high degree of interdependence between states, especially in the economic field, has created a new situation in which force has declining utility. (2) The possibilities of non-violent change are greater now than in previous eras of world history. (3) The Yalta system in Europe has been decisively replaced by a new and better order. (4) With the end of the ideological confrontation between East and West, the end of history is nigh. (5) There is now the actuality, or the strong possibility, of a new world order, based on international law, the UN Charter and Security Council-and also on American power and influence.