| ID | 115977 |
| Title Proper | Dimensions of the divide |
| Other Title Information | vertical differentiation, international inequality and North-South stratification in international relations theory |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Lees, Nicholas |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Recent attempts at developing social-structural accounts of the international order have suggested that the international system might be analysed in terms of patterns of vertical differentiation and stratification. Taking up this challenge, this article argues that inequality should be understood as part of the 'deep structure' of the international system rather than in terms of the attributes of individual states. It suggests that we can understand how stratification and vertical differentiation emerge by examining five dimensions along which processes producing asymmetry occur, focusing on transactions between actors. These dimensions are: inter-state political hierarchy; secular socioeconomic development within societies; global stratification within the world economy; the dynamic of competitive development; and the process of overall collective management and supranational governance of the international system/global order. The historical intersection of these forms of stratification has produced an emergent, historically contingent division within the international order familiar to students of international politics as the North-South divide. |
| `In' analytical Note | Cambridge Review of International Affairs Vol. 25, No.2; Jun 2012: p.209-230 |
| Journal Source | Cambridge Review of International Affairs Vol. 25, No.2; Jun 2012: p.209-230 |
| Key Words | International Order ; International System ; Social - Structural Accounts ; World Economy ; Seculrar Socioeconomic Development ; Supranational Governance |