Introduction

Abstract

The accelerated technological and cultural change of the world has brought to the top of the agenda of the global system new problems calling on states and global institutions for apposite policy responses. The high permeability of state borders, the complex interdependence between states, the appeal of new principles supporting humanitarian intervention and the responsibility of protecting the victims of violence has imposed on the world’s political actors the task of producing sound programmes and policies to deal with problems that are both new and of unprecedented scale. The novelty of the global political system is even wider than the appearance of new problems. It encompasses the operations of new actors, such as the private and non-governmental organizations that challenge the roles and capabilities of states and international organizations. On some occasions, these new actors are able to put problems on the agenda that state governments would prefer to hide. At times, they are capable of derailing the policies of governments, as is the case of economic operators and militarized groups. Consequently, today’s world is far from being organized by concentration of power and the game of the super-powers we have been used to thinking of in the recent past. The role of international organizations as the core institutions of the governmental structure of the world system can no longer be underestimated.