Context and Trends
People may sometimes refer to "the will of the international community" to strengthen their own point of view or the opposite expression "the international community is divided" to explain a consensus has not yet been reached. In diplomacy and debate a case that includes this statement could be a sentiment of majoritarianism and a description of options to take action for the benefit of all countries. It is occasionally asserted that powerful countries and groups of countries use the term to describe organisations in which they play a predominant role, that might be interpreted as indifference toward other nations. The enactment of conflict or war may be claimed as an action of the "international community" by a superpower or coalition that could represent under half or less of the world's population.
A trend over the past decade ago that seems to have developed is away from a traditionally-accepted version of "international community" to one where even anti-Western or anti-Eastern interests are included, as well as interests that may not be anti-Western but also are not pro-Eastern. A debate regarding a claimed Israeli right to protect itself by ensuring that Iran does not duplicate Israeli nuclear weapons capability is a case in point. It appears that the majority of the world's nations are often more at sympathy with certain "targets" than they are with the Community's reasons for creating them.
Read more about this topic: International Community
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