Ordering Wars: A Typology of the Relationship between War and Order

• In Event: Poster Session: Gender and Comparative and International Politics & International Relations Theory
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: International Relations Theory

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between war and international order by demonstrating that wars are a fundamental institution and mechanism of international ordering. The main argument is that war is not a contingent feature of international orders, it is an institutionalized instrument of ordering projects. Therefore, the common association between order and peace should be taken with a grain of salt. I illustrate this point by proposing a typology that categorizes the different order-related motives of war in international ordering according to their type, role, agents, and functions. The typology proposes four main relationships: order-joining wars, order-challenging wars, order-keeping wars, and order-building wars. Going beyond the traditional literature that only focuses on hegemonic wars, I show how regional and local armed conflicts also have an international dimension, and how some of them were historically connected with international order projects. This work contributes to a broad research agenda that explores how international order influences local, regional, and global patterns of conflict, and the role that these wars have been playing in order configuration over time.

Author

• Ana Luiza Vedovato, Northwestern University