Power and the Westphalian System: Goodbye to All That?
Banquet in celebration of the treaty of Munster by Bartholemeus van de Helst, Rijksmuseum
If Part 1 of our Editorial Plan looked at the structural changes the international system has undergone in the recent past, then Part 2 will examines how these changes are influencing power dynamics at the regional and transnational levels. However, to help bridge the gap between these two parts, we will first try and determine which characterizations of power best describe our world today. Addressing this issue at the outset is crucial if we are to determine whether traditional theories of power still have the explanatory weight they once did. (Indeed, as the locus of power continues to shift to the individual, there are those who argue that Westphalian notions of state sovereignty and ‘power over’ others are becoming increasingly passé and redundant.)
To help us all draw our own conclusions, we begin this week by analyzing the health and status of the two most enduring theories of power – realism and liberalism. From there, we consider the constructivist argument that power is not a natural phenomenon but is, instead, socially constructed and reproduced. We then chart the evolution of Marxist ideas of 'structural power' from the local to the international level and analyze how they explain 'hegemony' in the international system after 1945. Finally, we end our week-long meditation by focusing on post-structuralist conceptions of power. At first glance, the post-structuralist argument that ‘power is everywhere’ appears to resonate with our belief that power is becoming more diffused, democratized and individualized.
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