Abstract
This paper first surveys the failures of international law and such approaches as realism, liberal internationalism, and the English school to create a suitable model for international community. I note that global institutions, regardless of how democratic we perceive them to be, do not create global communities; global communities create global institutions. Similarly, international law does not define international community; laws do not make communities, communities make laws. Otherwise, would have no boundaries, especially on the global level. The next part explores the nature of national identities and their link to world opinion and a nation’s international image. Even its most ardent defenders admit that a vague sense of group identity exists in the international community. A prerequisite for the existence of an international community is the threat of global isolation, as community is defined, in part, by those excluded from it. Often, nations collectively practice isolation through indirect, or “soft”, sanctions including criticizing the image of the targeted nation, questioning the nation’s reputation, and other more abstract strategies. I conclude that the potential for such isolation provides boundaries for an international community, as shown by the United States’s experience recently.
Presenters
Frank Louis RuscianoProfessor, Political Science, Rider University, New Jersey, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Civic, Political, and Community Studies
KEYWORDS
International Community, World Opinion, Models of Community and International Order
