Great power rivalry and the weakening of collective hegemony: revisiting the relationship between international society and international order

Abstract

As Russia-West relations hit a post-Cold War low and a sterner Western approach toward China has become more manifest, great power rivalry appears to have returned. It is often assumed that these developments will have important consequences for the durability of the so-called ‘liberal international order’. This paper seeks to clarify precisely what the liberal international order is and how it relates to English School understandings of international society and international order. First will come an analysis of these concepts as they are currently understood in recent literature, with the aim of providing a more wide-reaching framework for understanding hegemony and liberal order in today’s world. Then, the paper will turn to Russian and Chinese perspectives on the liberal order and the extent to which Moscow and Beijing are challenging it. Finally, it will discuss the implications that all of this holds for the conceptual relationship between international society and international order.