The Evolution of the International System: Surrender Sovereignty or Fight to the Death
Abstract
This thesis presents a long-term, multi-disciplinary view of international relations that incorporates realism, liberalism, and constructivism into a distinct new theory. It focuses on the proposal that the international environment is a social system, driven by self-interest characterized by the larger evolutionary process. The analysis argues that human social evolution employs cooperation to fulfill self-interest. As cooperation increases, human social groups self-organize and amalgamate into larger groups and higher-order social constructs, creating the international system. Societies evolve and develop culture specifically to encourage and enforce cooperation. As evidenced by the spread of democracy, societies mimic and copy cultural aspects of more successful societies to reap the benefits of cooperation. Just as social constructs cooperate to meet the needs of the individual, states also cooperate to meet the needs of their own populations. Since the Seventeenth Century, the international environment has evolved from a continental grouping of states into an international society, reflecting ever-increasing cooperation among states. The rapid spread of globalization, international regimes, and institutions illustrates the growth of international cooperation and presages the coming amalgamation of states into a system dominated by supra-state social structures. Three case studies set in the Twentieth Century highlight this evolutionary process with an analysis of the outcomes of WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. The conclusion of each war represented steps toward increasing international cooperation that is likely to culminate in an international environment centered on supra-state structures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- AD1019693
Entities
People
- Aaron S. Cowley
Organizations
- Air University