The 'English School' of international relations theory, also known as Liberal Realism, Rationalism or the British institutionalists, maintains that there is a 'society of states' at the international level, despite the condition of 'anarchy' (literally the lack of a ruler or world state). Its strongest influence is functionalism, but it also draws heavily on realist and critical theories. Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism International relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual model upon which international relations can be analyzed. ... International Relations Theory Realism Liberalism Idealism Neoconservatism Institutionalism Functionalism Marxism Critical theory Isolationism Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose principally from the experience of European integration. ... Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      For other uses, see Realism (disambiguation). ... Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      Critical international relations theory is a set of schools of thought in international relations (IR) that have criticized the status-quo—both from positivist positions as well as postpositivist positions. ...

Overview

"International Society"

International relations, the English School argues, represents a society of states. This international society can be detected, it is argued, in the ideas that animate the key institutions that regulate international relations: war, the great powers, diplomacy, the balance of power, and international law, especially in the mutual recognition of sovereignty by states. Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. ... Diplomat redirects here. ... Balance of power in international relations is a central concept in realist theory. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ...

There are differing accounts, within the school, concerning the evolution of those ideas, some (like Martin Wight) arguing their origins can be found in the remnants of medieval conceptions of societas Christiana, and others such as Hedley Bull, to the concerns of sovereign states to safeguard and promote basic goals, especially their survival. Most English School understandings of international society blend these two together, maintaining that the contemporary society of states is partly the product of a common civilization - the Christian world of medieval Europe, and before that, the Roman Empire - and partly that of a kind of Lockean contract. Hedley Bull (1932 – 1985) was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics, and the University of Oxford until his death in 1985. ... This article is about John Locke, the English philosopher. ...

Reexamination of traditional approaches

A great deal of the English School of thought concerns itself with the examination of traditional international theory, casting it--as Martin Wight did in his 1950s-era lectures at the London School of Economics--into three divisions (called by Buzan as the English schools' triad): Robert James Martin Wight (26 November 1913-1972), also known as Martin Wight, was one of the foremost British scholars of International Relations in the twentieth century. ... The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a specialist constituent college of the University of London. ...

1. Realist or Hobbesian (after Thomas Hobbes)
2. Rationalist (or Grotian, after Hugo Grotius)
3. Revolutionist (or Kantian, after Immanuel Kant).

In broad terms, the English School itself has supported the rationalist or Grotian tradition, seeking a middle way (or via media) between the 'power politics' of realism and the 'utopianism' of revolutionism. This article is about the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. ... “Hobbes” redirects here. ... Hugo Grotius (Huig de Groot, or Hugo de Groot; Delft, 10 April 1583 – Rostock, 28 August 1645) worked as a jurist in the Dutch Republic and laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. ... “Kant” redirects here. ... Power politics is a state of international relations in which sovereigns protect their own interests by threatening one another with military, economic, or political aggression. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into utopia. ...

Later Wight changed his triad into a four part division by adding Mazzini (see: Martin Wight, Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory: Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini).

Internal divisions

The English School is often understood to be split into two main wings, named after two categories described by Hedley Bull:

• The pluralists argue that the diversity of humankind - their differing political and religious views, ethnic and linguistic traditions, and so on - is best contained within a society that allows for the greatest possible independence for states, which can, in their forms of government, express those differing conceptions of the 'good life'. This position is expressed most forcefully by the Canadian academic Robert H. Jackson, especially in The Global Covenant (2001).
• The solidarists, by contrast, argue that the society of states should do more to promote the causes of human rights and, perhaps, emancipation - as opposed to the rights of states to political independence and non-intervention in their internal affairs. This position may be located in the work on humanitarian intervention by, amongst others, Nicholas Wheeler, in Saving Strangers (2003).

There, however, further divisions within the school. The most obvious is that between those who argue that the school's approach should be historical and normative (such as Robert Jackson or Tim Dunne) and those who think it can be methodologically 'pluralist', making use of 'positivist' approaches to the field (like Barry Buzan and Richard Little).

In general, however, the English school stands for the conviction that ideas, rather than simply material capabilities, shape the conduct of international politics, and therefore deserve analysis and critique.

Affinities to others

The English School does have affinities:

• The pluralists have drawn from the classical 'political realism' of Hans Morgenthau, George Kennan and Reinhold Niebuhr
• The solidarist have drawn from liberal writers, such as Stanley Hoffman.

Contemporary English School writers draw from a variety of sources: Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism The term realism or political realism collects a wide variety of theories and modes of thought about International Relations that have in common that the motivation of states is in the... Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 – July 19, 1980) was an International Relations theorist and one of the most influential to date. ... George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as the father of containment and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. ... Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was a Protestant theologian best known for his study of the task of relating the Christian faith to the reality of modern politics and diplomacy. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of...

• from structural 'neorealism' of Kenneth Waltz, in the case of Barry Buzan;
• from social constructivism of Alexander Wendt, in that of Tim Dunne;
• from 'critical theorists', in that of Andrew Linklater; and
• even from the 'post-structuralism' of Michel Foucault, in the case of James Der Derian.

Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism Neorealism or structural realism is a theory of international relations, outlined by Kenneth Waltz in his 1979 book, Theory of International Politics. ... Kenneth Neal Waltz (born 1924) is a member of the faculty at Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars of international relations (IR) alive today. ... Barry Buzan is a Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, and honorary professor at the University of Copenhagen. ... Constructivism is a new criticism in philosophy directed against medieval realism, classical rationalism and empiricism. ... Alexander Wendt is one of the core social constructivist scholars in the field of international relations. ... In the humanities and social sciences, critical theory has two quite different meanings with different origins and histories. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ... James Der Derian is a Watson Institute research professor of international studies and professor of political science at Brown University. ...

History

The 'English-ness' of the school is questionable - many of its most prominent members are not English - and its intellectual origins are disputed. One view (that of Hidemi Suganami) is that its roots lie in the work of pioneering inter-war scholars like the South African Charles Manning, the founding professor of the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. Others (especially Tim Dunne and Brunello Vigezzi) have located them in the work of the British Committee on the Theory of International Politics, a group created in 1959 under the chairmanship of the Cambridge historian Herbert Butterfield, with financial aid from the Rockefeller Foundation. Both positions acknowledge the central role played by the theorists Martin Wight, Hedley Bull (an Australian) and John Vincent. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a specialist constituent college of the University of London. ... Herbert Butterfield (October 7, 1900-July 20, 1979) was a British historian and philosopher of history (see philosophy of history) who is remembered chiefly for a slim volume entitled The Whig Interpretation of History 1931. ... Robert James Martin Wight (26 November 1913-1972), also known as Martin Wight, was one of the foremost British scholars of International Relations in the twentieth century. ... Hedley Bull (1932 – 1985) was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics, and the University of Oxford until his death in 1985. ...

The name 'English School' was first coined by Roy Jones in an article published in the Review of International Studies in 1981 which presented what Jones called a 'case for [its] closure'. Some other descriptions - notably that of 'British institutionalists' (Hidemi Suganami) - have been suggested, but are not generally used.

Key works

• Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society (1977).
• Herbert Butterfield, Martin Wight (eds), Diplomatic Investigations (1966).
• Martin Wight, Four seminal thinkers in international theory : Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini (2005)
• Martin Wight, Systems of States (1977)
• Martin Wight, Power Politics (1978)
• Martin Wight, International Theory (1991)
• Andrew Linklater & Hidemi Suganami, The English School of International Relations (2005)

The English school website contains a comprehensive bibliography and other resources and can be found at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/polis/englishschool/ The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics is a 1977 book by Hedley Bull and a founding text of the English School of international relations theory. ...