Constitutionalization above the state: How After Victory broke anarchy
| Published date | 01 February 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148118791400 |
| Date | 01 February 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Breakthrough Commentaries |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148118791400
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2019, Vol. 21(1) 40 –46
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148118791400
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Constitutionalization above
the state: How After Victory
broke anarchy
Kathleen R. McNamara
Keywords
anarchy, hierarchy, G. John Ikenberry, liberal international order, political authority, political
development, transnational politics
Introduction
G. John Ikenberry’s seminal book, After Victory, is notable for many things, but one of its
key impacts on the field of International Relations (IR) was profoundly to challenge how we
conceptualise the very nature of international politics. The Western canon in IR had as its
fundamental baseline the assumption that international politics occurs in a situation of anar-
chy. Ikenberry’s argument challenged that truism. It did so by arguing that the United States
had transformed the international system after World War II (WWII) in ways that broke
down the strict division between hierarchical political authority in the domestic realm, and
its opposite: anarchy in the international political realm. Ikenberry’s emphasis on under-
standing the unique post-war American strategy of building a constitutional order above the
state has only increased in importance over time, as seen in the vibrant series of recent lit-
eratures that probe the accumulation of political authority beyond the state.
Ikenberry’s insights therefore remain remarkably relevant to the broader transforma-
tions occurring in the nature of global politics today. His argument, and evidence in sup-
port of the constitutional settlement of the American era, allows for a fundamental
refashioning of the range of possibilities for politics across states. Although not widely
recognised, After Victory provided a foundation for today’s emerging scholarly work on
hierarchy, transnational political authority, and political development beyond the state.
Therefore, rather than simply viewing After Victory narrowly in terms of its predictions
about the liberal international order, we should acknowledge how it pioneered a much
more dynamic view of international politics beyond anarchy, once that continues to be
highly relevant today. At a time of uncertain geopolitical shifts and increasing tensions,
rising populist demands for withdrawal from the post-war global order, and rampant
Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
Corresponding author:
Kathleen R. McNamara, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
Email: krm32@georgetown.edu
791400BPI0010.1177/1369148118791400The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsMcNamara
research-article2018
Breakthrough Commentary
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