Unit Two: Actors of the Global Political System

Step Five – Rules of the global political system

Relations among states and other actors within the system are regulated by three different typologies of rules:

• • Norms (which are usually written ones, as part of agreements and conventions);
  • Principles (universally agreed, usually included in conventions and national constitutions, other than in the UN charter);
  • Rules of the game (unwritten, practices, gentlemen’s agreement).