Revolutions, Counterrevolutions, and (un)making of International Orders

Professor Williams will discuss the struggle for international order is usually studied within international relations dominant systemic theories as driven by conflict amongst the great powers.

The English School follows this path to some extent, but offers an understanding of order formed through collaboration, rather than just conflict. Applying the school’s theoretical lens offers a better placement to situate the role of revolutions in international order making.

This paper argues that rather international order is not just predicated on concentrations of state power, but also on revolutions that need to be understood not simply as isolated, domestic events but rather as transnational phenomena that have impact far beyond the borders of the state where they occur.

The historical record is rich with examples of the interplay between revolutions, states and order making, with the best contemporary example of this being Russia’s war against Ukraine.

This paper argues that Russia intervention is best understood not as a push back against NATO expansion, but as a counter-revolutionary intervention to stem the demonstration effect of liberal democracy on Russia’s internal polity, as well as a repudiation of Europe’s emergent post-modern political order.