Conclusion: The Future of International Relations

Abstract

This book has been concerned with ideas as to how the international has been, or may be, changed; it has also suggested processes and mechanisms for such change, be it the transnationalism of society and ideology, the ‘emancipatory’ forces of class and group, or the construction of forms of global governance. Any such agency evokes questions not only of efficacy, but also of ethical foundation. The preceding chapters have been focused elsewhere, on the relationship between domestic and international politics, and on the implications of this for analysing how the international system works. In conclusion, however, it seems appropriate to turn to the moral questions raised by the turn in international events of the the late 1980s and to offer what any theoretical approach should offer, a programme for future work.