Abstract
This chapter critiques concepts of “polarity” and explains the differences between the contemporary pluri-state constellation of powers and the essentially bicentric global system of the Cold War in theoretical terms. Given the fact that the concepts of “polarity” have tended to dominate IR concepts and discourse, this chapter explains why the conceptions of “bipolarity,” “multipolarity” and “unipolarity,” and “non-polarity” or “apolarity ” do not adequately describe the nature of the global system and its historical dynamics and why the term “polycentrism” provides a more comprehensive analysis as a heuristic device.
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Gardner, H. (2019). A Critique of Polarity and Sovereignty. In: IR Theory, Historical Analogy, and Major Power War. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04636-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04636-1_3
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04635-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04636-1
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