The international rules-based order (IRBO) has underpinned international interactions since its formal establishment in 1945 and is predicated on a system of laws, rules, norms and understandings. For those seeking to manage conflict, to advance relations between nations, or simply to understand the state of global affairs, the definition and presumptive guardrails of the IRBO is important. 

With the state of global trade, financial markets, instant communication, and logistics, the international community is tightly tied together, for better or worse. In a rapidly changing and anarchic world, there is still importance and utility for the IRBO system that anchors the international community against the chaos of war, disaster, violence and crime.

Darren Zook teaches political science and international and area studies at UC Berkeley. His research interests include human rights, comparative Asian politics, international law, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. His work has taken him all over Asia: India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Japan, China, Mongolia, South Korea and even North Korea.