Stephen D. Krasner. 1999. Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy

Stephen D. Krasner. Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), pp. 1-42.

Westphalian and international legal sovereignty are examples of organized hypocrisy. Imposition can only occur when interests are different and power asymmetries high. Coercion can take place if preferences of rulers are different and if there are asymmetries of power, but the asymmetries are less than for imposition. Conventions can only occur if rulers have complementary or identical interests. Contracts are like conventions, but contingent on cooperation.