When the BerlinWall was breached in 1989 and the Cold War ended, specialists in the field ofinternational relations (IR) readily acknowledged that it was necessary to takestock and assess the historical significance of these events. Unsurprisingly, noagreement has been reached. For most realists, the events reflect no more than animportant shift in the power structure of the international system. But forliberals, the forty years of Cold War are now depicted not as a struggle forpower, but as an ideological battle between capitalism and communism from whichcapitalism has emerged triumphant. The significance of this development for thefuture of international relations is difficult to gauge. As a key concept,‘capitalism’ has largely been the preserve of the Marxian fringe inIR. It did not resonate amongst most mainstream theorists in the field, whetherrealist or liberal. The concept was most familiar as a term of communist propaganda.It was avoided by many specialists during the Cold War era who failed to see howcapitalism could promote an understanding of superpower relations. But with theend of the Cold War now linked to the triumph of capitalism, it is impossible forliberals, in particular, to discuss the future of the international systemwithout some evaluation of the unfolding international role being played bycapitalism.