Persistence despite Delegitimation
from Part I - The Imperial Past and Present in International Politics and IR
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 June 2023
This chapter explores the effects of decolonization on the collective hegemony of the great powers in international society. The chapter contributes to research on the interplay of hierarchies by analysing the two modes of historicity that shaped this interplay: complex temporalities and the structuring effects of history. The first form of collective hegemony, the Concert of Europe, was established when parts of the world were already colonized, others in the process of decolonization and still others yet to be colonized. As the decolonized states were the chief opponents of collective hegemony, the successive decolonization of international society led to an increasing level of contestation. Collective hegemony, though, has persisted. The powerful states were able to perpetuate this practice both by benefiting from path-dependencies in formal governance institutions (UN Security Council) and by side-stepping the consent of smaller states through informal forms of collective hegemony (G7 and G20).
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