Anarchy (IR)

Anarchy of International Relations is the idea that the world lacks any supreme authority or sovereign. In an anarchic state, there is no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can resolve disputes, enforce law, or order the system of international politics. In international relations, anarchy is widely accepted as the starting point for international relations theory.

International relations generally does not understand "anarchy" as signifying a world in chaos, disorder, or conflict; rather, it is possible for ordered relations between states in an anarchic international system. Anarchy provides foundations for realist, liberal, neorealist, and neoliberal paradigms of international relations.