Internationalism believes in the sovereignty of nations, but encourages multilateralism (world leadership should not be dominated by one country).

Liberal internationalism is a foreign policy doctrine that argues that liberal states should intervene in other sovereign states in order to pursue liberal objectives. An example of this is organisations committing to liberal values of universal human rights.
Socialism internationalism is based upon the twin principles of equality and social justice for the whole world. Nations need to work together in order to bring an end to exploitation of the capitalist system. In this ideology, identity is determined by economic forces rather than national boundaries. This most clear expression of this ideology is the international organisation Socialist International.

Some Internationalists desire some form of democratic globalization in the form of a world government. While others argue for a strengthening of supranational entities such as the United Nations.