Forms of Hierarchy in International Relations

This article examines Indirect Rule: The Making of U.S. International Hierarchy by David Lake, which I regard as one of the five most significant theoretical contributions to international relations in the past two decades. Lake conceptualizes indirect rule as the predominant form of hierarchy in the U.S.-led order after World War II, thereby challenging conventional understandings of international anarchy. At the same time, he demonstrates convincingly that the international institutions established after 1945 were not created via a contract among equals but rather as expressions of inequality and dominance. The article first recapitulates the concept of indirect rule and its application to U.S. relations with allies across different regions, such as Latin America, Western Europe, and the Middle East. It then assesses the limitations and potential shortcomings of Lake's approach. The focus on actors and their preferences downplays the historical origins of the preferences and may overlook longstanding distributional inequalities. Building on this discussion, the article outlines three complementary approaches to the study of hierarchy in international relations, each of which highlights different dimensions of asymmetric relationships.