PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

Contents Introduction

The concept of international society is developed on the basis of the Grotian tradition that a society of states contains common bonds that brings order that would not be seen in a mere collectivity of sovereign states. The regime theory has been developed with regard to American hegemonic power and its decline. International society school regards the states system itself as a society, while literatures on international regimes hold that states create a set of principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures in various issue-areas within the states system. Though the two literatures have completely the different backgrounds and adopt different methodology, they treat the same phenomena in the states system that states form a cooperative relationship under the anarchical system in order to preserve international order. An international society is a framework in which states can maintain their sovereignty most effectively. States' commitment to their sovereign existence provides a bedrock for the development of regimes in certain economic or social areas. States in a large framework called an international society seek to create and maintain international regimes in certain issue-areas, with an objective of self-preservation. International society is the bedrock in which international regimes constitute a hierarchy.