Institutions for the Common Good: International Protection Regimes in International Society [Paperback]

Bruce Cronin asks why states act collectively to protect populations within other states.The protection of domestic populations by international institutions is both an anomaly and an enduring practice in international relations. It is an anomaly because in a system of sovereign states, the welfare of individuals and groups falls outside traditional definitions of state interest. Yet since the evolution of the nation-state system, collectivities of states have sought to protect religious minorities, dynastic families, national minorities, ethnic communities, individual citizens and refugees. Cronin explains this phenomenon by developing a theory that links international stability with the progress of a cohesive international order.The protection of domestic populations by international institutions is both an anomaly and an enduring practice in international relations. It is an anomaly because in a system of sovereign states, the welfare of individuals and groups falls outside traditional definitions of state interest. Yet since the evolution of the nation-state system, collectivities of states have sought to protect religious minorities, dynastic families, national minorities, ethnic communities, individual citizens and refugees. Cronin explains this phenomenon by developing a theory that links international stability with the progress of a cohesive international order.Bruce Cronin develops a theory that links international stability with progress in building a cohesive international order. He examines how states attempt to provide for international stability by creating International Protection Regimes--multilateral institutions designed to protect clearly defined classes of people within sovereign states. Cronin argues that, in the aftermath of major systemic changes, states try to create international orders by regulating the relationship between governments and their populations, particularly in newly formed and reorganized states.1. International relations thel#�