12. Consensus and International Political Integration
Abstract
12. Consensus and International Political Integration SAGE Publications, Inc.1958DOI: 10.1177/000276425800100312 J. David Singer Department of Social Relations Harvard University There seems to be a widely- held notion today that any discussion or research directed toward the political strengthening of the United Nations is an essentially fruitless enterprise. Basically, this position appears to stem from the assumption that the world is deeply divided--in bi-polar terms by the Soviet-Western schism, and into a multiplicity of suspicious, parochial blocs by the staggering diversity of races, cultures, nations, and belief-systems. That the world Is. divided cannot be denied. But in emphasizing that there exists a dramatic lack of community, "together- ness, " or consensus, we have so far failed to clarify the meaning and implications of this concept. What is consensus, and what are its primary and secondary components ? How much of what sort of consensus exists today, and is it on the rise or decline? How much consensus is actually required before certain institutional improvements may be made in the United Nations system? Finally, if, as assumed, there does exist a wide disparity between the present and the requisite consensus levels, how can it be narrowed or bridged? It would