Systems in IR – Globalisation as an integrative process

Looking at systems in International Relations has become as difficult as defining what a system is. The subject is intrinsically difficult by way of the sheer number of variables that one has to take into account. Still, the appeal of the topic is difficult to resist for the simple reason that history is providing us with a wealth of cases and examples spread across centuries. Globalization is just one small part of the recent history which inescapably will add to the ever growing body of work about systems in IR. This paper is an attempt to look at systems in IR from a much narrow point of view in the light of the globalization process that took off after the collapse of communism. It is arguing three main points. Firstly, it suggests that the process of globalization is an integrative process aimed at maintaining American primacy. Secondly, it argues that where it proves unsuccessful, globalization is substituted by war. Finally, it is considering the possible consequences of the abandonment of the process of globalization by the US.