The idea of liberal international order as a world order is understood to be constituted as a result of disproportionate Anglo-American influences. This is in line with much of international relations (IR) theory, which typically characterizes the emergence of order as resulting from the diffusion or imposition of norms and institutions from the world's centers of power. This article argues otherwise, its premise being that the international order founded on sovereign equal nation-states was co-constituted as well by the influence of relatively weak actors through decentralized processes of contestation over core international norms. Drawing on international relations, history, and law, this article outlines a framework to interpret the actions and mechanisms by which supposedly weak actors shaped international order. It concisely traces the constitution of order as based on its fundamental norms and assesses the implications of the argument for the current crisis of liberal order, as well as IR theory more broadly, laying out a research agenda for the future.

中文翻译：

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秩序的共同构成

自由国际秩序作为世界秩序的概念被理解为是由不成比例的英美影响构成的。这与国际关系 (IR) 理论的大部分内容一致，该理论通常将秩序的出现描述为来自世界权力中心的规范和制度的传播或强加的结果。本文则另辟蹊径，其前提是，建立在主权平等的民族国家之上的国际秩序也是由相对较弱的行为者通过对核心国际规范的分散竞争过程的影响共同构成的。本文借鉴国际关系、历史和法律，概述了一个框架来解释所谓的弱行为者塑造国际秩序的行动和机制。