International relations scholars are one of the most conservative groups of social scientists in the world in the sense that we are very skeptical, if not cynical, about the possibility of fundamental change in the parameters of our area of study. In fact, we generally believe that illusions concerning the possibility of major change can wreak greater havoc in the world than a realistic acceptance of the rather nasty nature of international politics. The basic reality that we feel we must accept is a system of states that are subject to minimal international governance and that go to war regularly to realize various goals. In the present era our long-held and justifiable cynicism concerning the possibility for change in the traditional interstate system could blind us to a significant transformation in global politics.

Increasingly, academic experts and policy-makers are observing explicitly or implicitly that the international system might be in the midst of some fundamental political changes.