John Ikenberry's International Order

Understanding today’s international order is a challenging mission since key actors and relations can influence the world in which we live. Throughout a changing environment, the rationale of state actors, combined with the behavior of non-state actors, willingly or unwillingly creates and modifies the international order because these actors want to change or modify the actual order. Therefore, international orders emerge through the establishment of organizing norms of power and stability throughout states, while the international order change due to the influence of many actors. According to John Ikenberry, international order is the system of activities and relations that enable the community of states to work through norms, agreements, and institutions in formal or informal …show more content…
Ikenberry’s argument offers an excellent explanation about the reality of today’s international system because although some states could choose the type of system they live in; other more powerful states could force the type of order without taking into consideration the choices of others. One might object here that this is unjust because it is not possible that other states can set the rules of the game above others; however, be just or unjust this is the reality. States willingly or unwillingly accept an international order. Ultimately, international order emerges through stages. The first stage is when states can agree with others to decide what type of international order they want; however, when powerful states do not agree with others, the probable result is war. This is so because international order depends upon states applying its power over other states. G. John Ikenberry argues that the most important changes in international orders happen after major wars. War is the primary resort to create an international order because, after war, victorious states can set the rules and others states