“The World in Disarray”: Is An Update of the International System Possible?

... updated version of the world order is the main theme that Richard Haass, the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, explores in his recent book A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order. The book begins by reviewing how the concept of ‘world order’ has evolved throughout history, beginning with the famous Treaty of Westphalia, which solidified the concept of sovereignty as the guide towards the international relations system, and then throughout the twentieth century. A particular emphasis is made on the period of the Cold War, which, according to Haass, showed a significant degree of order, despite the great power rivalry. The US and the USSR ...