The Desire for Order: A theoretical approach to (World) Order

Thirty years ago, a New World Order was announced. After the Cold War the world would be a peaceful place, conflicts would be solved multilaterally and in the West is was expected that the only superpower and “leader of the free world”, USA, would take the lead in fulfilling the vision of the New World Order. Russia, China, and other power centers understood World Order different. As did transnational jihadists. Thirty tears after, the same politicians and scholars in international relations that announced the New World Order are now arguing for the end of a Liberal World Order. The world is facing a future with competition and rivalry between the world powers. USA prioritize the “America First” policy, China is a rising power, and Russia challenge USA position in the world, especially in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Still we are talking about ‘World Order’. What does order mean? What is order more precisely? In this Working Paper, DIIS Researcher Lars Erslev Andersen develop a theoretically approach to the understanding of (World) Order.
Based on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer, and including Albert Einstein’s theories, this approach proposes a definition of the will to life as the desire for order. This is put into perspective using Friedrich Nietzsche’s determination of two fundamental desires based on his studies of Greek tragedy, namely the Apollonian and Dionysian. The approach discusses and argues for a number of theories about world order to be rethought based on the definition of world order as will and representation and the will to life as the desire for order. Inspired by the paradigm shifts that have changed the interpretation of Nature in theoretical physics since Einstein’s theory on gravitation and the development of quantum mechanics it argues for that time has come for a theoretical paradigm shift in the study and understanding of international relations.