The aim of the article is to reconsider and eventually to revise the concept of international order prevailing in the IR. The first step in this attempt is to clarify the meaning (definition) of the notion, which is often misunderstood as a system or a balance of power of/in international politics. In this approach, international order consist of such inter-related elements as nationstates, inter-state relations, as well as universally accepted norms and institutions which serve existence of states and stability of relations. A few other elements play an important role in this context, such as the economy, culture or ideas. In the light of empirically verified assumptions, international order begins only with creation of the League of Nations after the First World War, while earlier changes and developments in international relations taking place since the XVIIth century can be seen as a prelude, i.e. “proto-order.”