Sumario: | The rise of the concept that all nations are equal has transformed international relations in the twentieth century, setting radically new terms for the conduct of war and peace, for economic relations, and for the organization of international society. It is the author's belief that uncritical adherence to this concept is a major stumbling block to the reorganization of the world community. This book is the first study of the historical antecedents and philosophical foundations of the concept of sovereign equality. The older concept of great-power primacy pictures states as abstract entities with a fictitious personality. Increasingly challenged since Alexis de Tocqueville, it has been supplanted by the opposing concept of sovereign equality, which was brought to world attention at the Second hague Peace Conference in 1907.
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