Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
What does "Transnational" mean? How is it different from International?
As far as I can remember of my IR classes "International" refers to the state to state (or nation to nation) contatcs such as diplomacy (track 1 and 2), war, international law, etc. which result in the creation of an international system of states (or society of states, for a "thicker" description which includes social/cultural elements of interaction). Transnational on the other hand refers to the burgeoning non-state interaction (in terms of dynamic density) at and beyond the level of the world inter-state/international system such as international finance (think Hawala rather than WTO), migration, telecommunications (i.e., internet) which states do not directly control, instigate or generate (i.e, are system level effects which are not attributable to states to state interactions). The international and transnational are parallel, parasitic and mutually supporting. In some regions consititing of exclusivly failed states transnational (non-state) forces may take over functions that would otherwise have been provided by states (such as INGOs, Hawala type financial transactions, barter, etc.). Sorry if that sounds a bit confused but its been a while since I cracked open my IR books.