Imperialism & International Governance: The Case of US Policy towards Africa

This article argues that capitalism requires a structure of international governance, and that this can fruitfully be interpreted by integrating elements of the imperialism perspective with international relations theory. A key issue is the study of the interface between country-level governance and that of the international system itself. Capitalism needs to adapt from a relatively simple state-centric model of international governance to one which encompasses and tries to exploit an environment peopled by regimes, non-governmental organisations, 'international civil society', and rapidly developing international law. But it seems that that this tendency is incompatible with an underlying imperative of deploying pure force in the selfish interests of the dominant powers, particularly the United States.