Abstract
Autore:
Fiammenghi Davide
Titolo:
"La stabilità internazionale dopo la fine del bipolarismo"
Which kind of international
system did emerge after the end of the Cold
War? Is it a multipolar one, as someone argues,
or we would rather describe it as a
unipolar system, a definition over which
scholars often agree? A second, but strictly related
question concerns its nature: is the new
system a stable or unstable one? In this article
we provide a cursory review of the literature
on these two subjects. The main conclusions
reached can be summarized as follows. First,
scholars usually agree that the system can be
best defined as unipolar. Second, two definitions
of stability exist: stability as peace, and,
on the other side, stability as durability. Third,
with reference to the latter definition, we argue
that the current international system is a
stable one (i.e. it has a great expected durability
within the next decades). With reference to
the former definition (stability as peace) there
is a lack of both empirical and theoretical
studies, and it would be premature to affirm a
clear-cut conclusion. Even so, in the last part
of the article some insights are drawn which
suggest that the current system may be peaceful
as long as the major powers are concerned.
On the contrary, there is no evidence at the
moment that such a pacific attitude would involve
secondary states.
