No Contestation Without Comparison

Abstract This chapter deals with military force comparison as practices that underlie both the constitution as well as the contestation of international order(s). It argues that in order to understand both the constitution and the contestation of international order(s), it is necessary to trace how these practices of comparison operate and change over time. This requires identifying the relevant practices and dissecting how they work and evolve over time, as well as analyzing the constitution and change of the relevant communities of practice that actually “do” the comparing. The chapter discusses how practices of comparing in general have strong structuring effects on order(s), and in turn are required for producing (ideas about), “orders” in modern society more generally, and “international order” more specifically. It then shows how military force comparisons always entailed negotiations on counting, and about who would be a legitimate counter.