World Politics

At the end of the Cold War, there was much talk of a new worldorder in which the sovereign state would be held to democraticaccount, fundamental rights would be respected, and conflict wouldbe replaced by cooperation based on the rule of law. At the startof the new millenium most of this optimism has evaporated.
This book examines why it is so difficult to improve standards ofinternational behaviour and explores the pre-conditions for anyrealistic attempt to do so. It discusses three major issues thathave dominated international debate over the past decade: thetension between sovereignty and national self-determination; theproblems associated with the attempt to spread democracy around theworld; and the desirability of external intervention in ethnic andreligious conflicts.
Rejecting both the unfounded optimism of the early 1990s and thecynical pessimism of more recent years, Professor Mayall points tothe strong elements of continuity in international life. Heconcludes that international society is unlikely to be successfullyreformed if governments continue to will progressive ends whilstevading responsibility for their actions.