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The Role of the United States in World Society Jason F University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 8-26-2016 A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Role of the United States in World Society Jason F. Charrette University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Charrette, Jason F., "A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Role of the United States in World Society" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 1253. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1253 A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Role of the United States in World Society Jason Francis Charrette, PhD University of Connecticut, 2016 Abstract: This dissertation examines the global role of the United States and other organizations within world society. What sets this project apart from previous scholarship is that it relies on the insights of Niklas Luhmann‘s modern systems theory to contextualize those roles. Luhmann argues that the closest human civilization has to a world order is a ―world society‖ made up of many functional communication systems. These systems each provide a distinct model through which humans understand and construct their social world. Because these models are not always compatible, the potential for conflict is woven into the fabric of world society. Extending Luhmann‘s theory further, I argue that the differences between these systems structure this conflict and manifest themselves through organizational behavior, which I demonstrate through the development of a model of organizational behavior. I apply this model in four case-studies that reveal Luhmannian dynamics at play. From the political system, I focused on the United States. From the religious system, I examined the Islamic State, the Taliban, and the historical and current Catholic Church. In each case, organizational behavior conformed to the expectations of the model – conflict is driven by systemic differences. In addition to this observation, this dissertation makes several other contributions. It is the first book-length treatment that explores modern system theory‘s application to the study of international affairs. Along with this, it is also an explicitly self-consciously analyticist project, a rarity in international relations. Substantively, it provides a unified theory of conflict for state and non- state actors sorely lacking in the field. Lastly, it suggests that conflict within world society will increase along with the number of communication systems. ii iii A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Role of the United States in World Society Jason Francis Charrette, PhD B.A., Cedarville University, 2004 M.A., Marquette University, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2016 iv Copyright by Jason Francis Charrette 2016 v APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation A Difference That Makes a Difference: The Role of the United States in World Society Presented by Jason Francis Charrette, B.A., M.A. Major Advisor _________________________________________________________________ Jennifer Sterling-Folker Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Jeremy Pressman Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Stephen B. Dyson University of Connecticut 2016 vi Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Modern Systems Theory and a New Theory of Conflict ............................................................ 8 Applying the Theory: Methodology and Case Study Design ................................................... 17 The Benefits of a Luhmannian Theory of Conflict ................................................................... 22 Three Objections to Luhmann ................................................................................................... 24 Plan of the Book ........................................................................................................................ 30 Chapter One: Modern Systems Theory and the Logic of Conflict within World Society ............ 33 1.1 Modern Systems Theory as Analyticist Masterpiece: Model-Makers All the Way Down . 38 1.2 Moving past structural functionalism .................................................................................. 46 1.2.1 Repairing Parsons ......................................................................................................... 58 1.3 Modern systems theory: The logic of communicative reproduction .................................. 61 1.3.1 The process of communication ..................................................................................... 65 1.3.2 Communication systems ............................................................................................... 69 1.3.3 Communication Systems: autopoietic replication ........................................................ 76 1.3.4 Conflict through process ............................................................................................... 80 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 86 Chapter Two: Modern Systems Theory and International Relations Theory ............................... 87 2.1 Drawback to Adopting Modern Systems Theory: Disappearing People ............................ 91 2.2 Benefit of Modern Systems Theory: Multiple and Competing World Orders .................... 97 2.2.1 Challenging the Traditional Model of Order ................................................................ 99 2.2.2 English School ............................................................................................................ 105 2.2.3 Realism ....................................................................................................................... 106 2.2.4 Liberalism ................................................................................................................... 109 2.2.5 Marxism ...................................................................................................................... 116 2.2.6 Constructivism ............................................................................................................ 119 2.3 The Common Theoretical Blind Spot ............................................................................... 122 2.4 The Way Forward.............................................................................................................. 124 Chapter Three: The Clash of Communication Systems and World Society ............................... 129 3.1 The Ordering Principle of World Society ......................................................................... 135 3.2 The Logic of Conflict in World Society............................................................................ 140 vii 3.2.1 The Types of Conflict in World Society .................................................................... 147 3.2.2 The Consequences of Conflict in World Society ....................................................... 152 3.3 Summary of Theory .......................................................................................................... 156 3.4 Application of the Organizational Ideal Type ................................................................... 158 Chapter Four: Religious Organizations as Hegemonic Actors ................................................... 165 4.1 Studying Religious Actors in International Politics .......................................................... 167 4.2 Defining Religion and Religious Organizations ............................................................... 175 4.2.1 Identifying Religious Organizations ........................................................................... 179 4.3 The Role of Religious Organizations Within World Society ............................................ 181 4.4 The Islamic State ............................................................................................................... 183 4.4.1 The History of the Islamic State ................................................................................. 184 4.4.2 The Return of ISIS ...................................................................................................... 195 4.4.3 The Religious Program of the Islamic State ............................................................... 207 4.4.4 Reaction of Political Organizations ............................................................................ 221 4.5 The Taliban ....................................................................................................................... 226 4.5.1 The History of the Taliban to 2011 ............................................................................ 227 4.5.2 The religious program of the Taliban ......................................................................... 233 4.5.3 Reactions from other organizations ............................................................................ 241 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 245 4.6 The Historical and Modern Catholic Church ...................................................................
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