[1][2][3] David Lake, Lisa Martin and Thomas Risse define "order" as "patterned or structured relationships among units".
[2] Michael Barnett defines an international order as "patterns of relating and acting" derived from and maintained by rules, institutions, law and norms.
[4][5] George Lawson has defined an international order as "regularized practices of exchange among discrete political units that recognize each other to be independent.
"[7] In After Victory (2001), John Ikenberry defines a political order as "the governing arrangements among a group of states, including its fundamental rules, principles and institutions.
[15][16][17][11] The LIO has been credited with expanding free trade, increasing capital mobility, spreading democracy, promoting human rights, and collectively defending the West from the Soviet Union.
[11] Over time, the LIO facilitated the spread of economic liberalism to the rest of the world, as well as helped consolidate democracy in formerly fascist or communist countries.