Post-Cold War Conflicts and International Order essays

Post-Cold War Conflicts and International Order essays As one looks at international relations in this post-cold war era, it is important to know that the liberal-realist ideologies are crucial elements to understanding post-cold war conflicts. Realists believe that wars arise from the efforts and desire of states to obtain power and security in an anarchic world. In a realists perspective, the balance of power, rally of allies, competition over territories and resources are the roots of war. In addition, realists deem the notions of self-help and arms build-up as the decisive arbiters for states in an anarchic world. Liberalists on the other hand believe that conflicts and the prevention of conflicts are not only determined by the balance of power, but also by the domestic structures of states, their values, identities, and cultures, and international institutions for conflict resolution. (Nye, 587) A liberalist would argue the importance of domestic structures and values in relation to international affairs. To further understand post-cold war conflicts and international order, I will first look at works conducted by Joseph Nye and Michael Klare and in the end I will incorporate Wohlforth and Huntingtons articles on hegemony against the wider background of world relations. Joseph Nyes Conflicts after the Cold War suggests that since the beginning of the post-cold war era, three accounts of conflict have emerged. He believes that a great deal of uncertainty exists in international relations since the Cold War era because international institutions designed around past conflicts have not yet caught up to the changed nature of post-cold war conflicts. Nye explains that the present wars of today are divided into three categories: great power, regional and internal. He considers regional and great power to be the most devastating types but also the least expected. The least threatening but most prevalent wars are internal communal wars. Nye s...