| Summary/Abstract |
Despite the Cold War and numerous hot wars, there is an essential continuity
in the post-war period based on the Charter International System created
in 1945. The United Nations and the associated declarations, organizations
and normative orientations remain the framework for the conduct of
international relations. At the level of international politics, orders are
created in which states contend and hegemonic formations take shape.
The Soviet-led bloc disintegrated in 1989-1991, leaving the field clear
for the U.S.-led political West to claim universality, and on that basis
seek to expand globally. However, the distinction between the system
and conjunctural political sub-order is crucial to explain the dynamics in
international affairs today.
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