The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.

As a rhetorical term

Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is typically used to imply the existence of a common point of view towards such matters as specific issues of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. It is sometimes used in calling for action to be taken against an enemy, e.g., action against perceived

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereb ...

in a target country. The term is also commonly used to imply legitimacy and consensus for a point of view on a disputed issue, e.g., to enhance the credibility of a majority

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

in the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

Criticism

Several prominent legal figures and authors have argued that the term is more often used to describe a small minority of states, and not literally all nations or states in the world. According to

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

jurist Victor P. Tsilonis, it refers to "the interests of the most powerful states" or "seven to ten states". President of the

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Paik Jin-hyun Paik Jin-hyun (; born 1 February 1958) is a South Korean judge and the current President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, inaugurated on October 2, 2017, succeeding Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn from Russia. Biography Pa ...

and co-authors

Lee Seokwoo Lee Seokwoo is a Korean academic, author and member of the law faculty at Inha University at Incheon, Korea. Early life Lee's earned undergraduate and Master of Laws degrees at Korea University. Further studies led to an LL.M. at the University ...

and Kevin Tan argue that it could refer to "some 20 affluent states", giving the example of those not members of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

, while Professor Peter Burnell of the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

suggests that a number of very important states, such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and those of the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and Islamic worlds, are often distant from the concept of the "international community" and do not necessarily endorse every initiative associated with it, for example, by abstaining from key votes in the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

alleges that the term is used to refer to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and its allies and

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

s, as well as allies in the media of those states. British scholar and academic

Martin Jacques Martin Jacques (born 1945) is a British journalist, editor, academic, political commentator and author. Early life Jacques was born in October 1945 in the city of Coventry (then in Warwickshire, now in the West Midlands), the son of Denni ...

says: "We all know what is meant by the term 'international community', don't we? It's

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

, of course, nothing more, nothing less. Using the term 'international community' is a way of dignifying the west, of globalising it, of making it sound more respectable, more neutral and high-faluting." According to American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, the term is a euphemistic replacement for the earlier propaganda term

Free World The Free World is a propaganda term, primarily used during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the Western Bloc and similar countries. It also more broadly refers to all non-communist and democratic countries. It has traditionally prima ...

.Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations, 72 Foreign Aff. 22 (1992–1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Community

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Political catchphrases Types of communities World Statism Global politics Multilateral relations Internationalism Globalization

As a rhetorical term

Criticism

See also

References