Muhammad’s Diplomacy: A beacon for Contemporary International System

Abstract

The contemporary international system could best be described as a system made of composite elements whose structure is shaped by an array of complex realities. These realities (factors) which include instrumental actors that participate in international politics such as; States, international organizations, NGOs, sub-national entities, as well as individuals, are fundamental in determining how the world functions today. For much of the last four centuries since the enlightenment period in Europe, two theories of the international system and their surrogates dominate the political landscape; realism and neo-realism on the one hand, liberalism and neo-liberalism on the other. These theories envisioned a bipolar and a unipolar world respectively with little or no regard for multilateralism resulting into a crass and chaotic international system. Thus the discourse within contemporary international system has never been murkier and opaque requiring a vibrant intellectual yet institutionalized way of thinking to provide a roadmap toward a more balanced and effective international system. In a systematic fashion, this paper adopts Prophet Muhammad’s strategy relative to diplomacy and statecraft as framework to articulate an integrated contemporary international system. The implications of this integrated framework, the paper argues, will engender a more robust and effective system based on multilateralism and interdependence where force will have no stake in international relations.