what emerges is a positional picture...

what emerges is a positional picture, a general description of the ordered overall arrangement of a society written in terms of the placement of units rather than in terms of their qualities.[^8] Therefore, according to structuralism, regimes depend on the distribution of power within the system.

It is the states that set the scene and stage their dramas or carry on their humdrum affairs .[^9] This approach leaves no room for regimes because only state power sets the term of the intercourse, whether by passively permitting informal rules to develop or actively intervening to change rules that no longer suit them .[^10] International institutions are ineffective in a self-help system and co-operation is fragile.

It is fragile both because of cheating ad because of states’ preference for relative over absolute gain.

In a state of anarchy, Waltz posits that relative gain is more important than absolute gain .[^11] In the word of Grieco, reflecting Waltz, states are positional, not autistic in character and in uncooperative interactions they are not only concerned about cheating but also worry that their partners might gain more from co-operation than they do.[^12] Therefore, in a condition of anarchy, cheating and the search for absolute or relative gain impedes co-operation.

The Groatian approach, unlike structuralism, regards regimes as independent variables. Regimes are social institutions governing the actions of those interested in specifiable activities.[^13] Under this approach, regimes are omnipresent. For instance, Puchala opines that for every political system, be it the United Nations, the United States, New York city or the American Association, there is a corresponding regime.[^14] This generalisation ignores international anarchy and egoism.

Unlike structuralism that sees regimes as outcomes, the Grotian perspective regards regimes as causal factors. Modified structuralism views regimes as intervening variables between power and outcomes. This school encompasses two major intellectual streams: theory of hegemonic stability and bargaining theory.

The prominent feature of modified structuralism is its adherence to the basic tenets of structuralism, which depicts an international system of functionally symmetrical, power-maximising states interacting in an anarchic environment. Yet, it postulates that under certain conditions when individual actors fail to secure Pareto-optimal outcomes, regimes play an important role even in an anarchic situation.