6 - What Remains of the Promise of Equality?

Summary

This concluding chapter situates the arguments made in this book within ongoing debates about the nature of hierarchy and equality in international relations. It then turns to reflect on the implications of the closure thesis in light of contemporary developments that seem to point to an opening of the system forced by the diffusion of power away from the West or away from the nation-state. It identifies in the closure thesis one explanation for why we are witnessing institutional fragmentation instead of institutional reform in response to the global power shift. Finally, the chapter considers possible future transformations and the potential for creating more egalitarian global relations.