ng procedures required for international intercourse. Katzenstein (1978, pp. 295 336), however, contends that domestic political structures and pressures underlie most international relations policy. Katzenstein (1978, pp. 295 336),
thus, although he recognizes the broad character of international relations, attributes the motivations of the central international actors primarily to their competing economic interests.
Those theorists who subscribe to the systemic hypothesis hold that control over or governance of the international system is a function of three factors. These three factors are the distribution of power among political coalitions, the hierarchy of prestige among states, and the set of rights and rules that govern or at least influence interactions among states.
According to the proponents of the systemic hypothesis, the distribution of power has, throughout history, been characterized by one of three structures. These three structures are as follows: (1) hegemony or imperialism, in which a single powerful state dominates the lesser states in the system; (2) bipolarity, in which two powerful states control interactions within and between their respective spheres of influence; (3) or a balance of power in which three or more states control one another's actions through diplomatic maneuver, shifting alliances, and open conflict.
Proponents of the second image hypothesis, however, tended to discount the dominant capacity and willingness to exercise such capacity accorded to power states in the systemic hypothesis. These proponents contend that claims for the general validity of the theory of hegemonic stability are often exaggerated. The dominance of a single great power may contribute to order in world politics, in particular circumstances, but it is not a sufficient condition to create and maintain such order. The contention is that hegemony and cooperation are not alternatives. On the contrary, it i...