Međunarodna zajednica je termin koji se koristi u geopolitici i međunarodnim odnosima i označava široku grupu ljudi i vlada svijeta.[1]
Osim što se koristi kao opći deskriptor,[2] termin se obično koristi da implicira postojanje zajedničkog gledišta prema pitanjima kao što su specifična pitanja ljudskih prava.[3][4] Ponekad se koristi za pozivanje na akciju protiv neprijatelja,[5] npr. akciju protiv percipirane političke represije u ciljnoj zemlji. Termin se također obično koristi da implicira legitimnost i konsenzus za tačku gledišta o spornom pitanju,[4][6] naprimjer, za povećanje kredibiliteta većine glasova u Generalnoj skupštini Ujedinjenih naroda.[3][7]
Nekoliko istaknutih pravnih ličnosti i autora tvrdilo je da se termin češće koristi za opisivanje male manjine država, a ne doslovno svih nacija ili država u svijetu.[1][3][8] Prema pravniku Međunarodnog krivičnog suda Viktoru P. Tsilonisu, odnosi se na "interese najmoćnijih država" ili "sedam do deset država".[8] Predsjednik Međunarodnog suda za pravo mora Paik Jin-hyun i koautori Lee Seokwoo i Kevin Tan tvrde da bi se moglo odnositi na "oko 20 bogatih država", dajući primjer onih koje nisu članice Pokreta nesvrstanih,[3] dok profesor Peter Burnell sa Univerziteta Warwick sugerira da su brojne vrlo važne države, poput Kine, Rusije i arapskog i islamskog svijeta, često udaljene od koncepta "međunarodne zajednice" i da ne moraju nužno podržati svaku inicijativu u vezi s tim, naprimjer, uzdržavanjem od ključnih glasova u Vijeću sigurnosti Ujedinjenih naroda.[1] Noam Chomsky navodi da se taj izraz koristi za označavanje Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i njihovih saveznika i država klijenata, kao i saveznika u medijima tih država.[9][10][11] Britanski novinar Martin Jacques kaže: "Svi znamo šta se podrazumijeva pod pojmom 'međunarodna zajednica', zar ne? To je Zapad, naravno, ništa više, ništa manje. Upotreba izraza 'međunarodna zajednica' je način dostojanstveni zapad, globalizirati ga, učiniti da zvuči respektabilnije, neutralnije i visoko-falutnije."[12] Prema američkom politologu Samuelu P. Huntingtonu, izraz je eufemistička zamjena za raniji propagandni izraz "Slobodni svijet".[13]
Paik, Jin-Hyun; Lee, Seok-Woo; Tan, Kevin (2013). Asian Approaches to International Law and the Legacy of Colonialism: The Law of the Sea, Territorial Disputes and International Dispute Settlement (jezik: engleski). Routledge. str. 145. ISBN 978-0-415-67978-7. The media may declare, for example, that the nuclear programme of this or that developing or non-aligned country is opposed by the 'international community', whereas of the non-aligned, comprising some 122 Stares, the majority, if not all of them, support the right of their membership to carry out such programmes, opposition being manifest only among a relatively small proportion of the total number of States, which now stands at 193. Vagueness is a pervasive feature of media reporting and of political discourse. But use of the term 'international community' as implying 'all States' in full knowledge that it could only cover some 20 affluent States, is more than merely vague. It amounts to failure to take due account of the basic Charter principle. ... While it is clear that the term 'international community' does not comprise all States, or even a majority of them, there is no indication to which States that term, as used in the World Summit Outcome, is intended to refer.
Veit, Alex (4. 10. 2010). Intervention as Indirect Rule: Civil War and Statebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo (jezik: engleski). Campus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-593-39311-7. Through the expansion of peacebuilding and related practices, the term international community has been modified. It refers still primarily to the collective of states. More recently, it is often used to describe world society. Yet as world society cannot constitute an actor, the latter meaning seems to serve mainly as a legitimating term for the former. ... The international community is a group of actors that claims to employ a common consensual perspective.
Danilenko, Gennadiĭ Mikhaĭlovich (1. 1. 1993). Law-Making in the International Community (jezik: engleski). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. str. 204. ISBN 0792320395. Those who believe that resolutions have become or are becoming an effective modern tool for rule-creation in an expanded international society often explain this phenomenon by reference to the fact that they manifest 'the general will of the international community [that] has acquired a certain legislative status.' Generally, a more cautious attitude prevails in state practice.
Tsilonis, Victor (23. 11. 2019). The Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (jezik: engleski). Springer Nature. str. 7, 23, 173. ISBN 978-3-030-21526-2. As analysed in more detail below, the term 'international community' does not have the meaning one would expect, i.e. the representation of the majority of States; on the contrary, the term skilfully implies the representation of the interests of the most powerful states. [p. 7] ... Nebulous concepts such as 'attracting international interest' or 'international community' need to be avoided at all costs [p. 23] ... A term through which the author attempts to imply all the recognised States in the world, and not simply the seven to ten states implied by the common but "misty" term "international community". [p. 173]
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations, 72 Foreign Aff. 22 (1992–1993)