THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Topic 8 GOVT 2060 International Relations: Theories and Approaches Fall 2017 International Society Theory (The English School) - between classical realism and classical liberalism - the first step towards post-positivism 1/10
ab1234.yolasite.com 2/10
Course content The History and Evolution of the International System Levels of Analysis and Foreign Policy MAINSTREAM APPROACHES Liberalism Realism Neorealism Neoliberalism POSITIVIST THEORIES STRUCTURALIST APPROACHES Classical Marxism Dependency Theory Structural Imperialism Worlds System Theory International Society Theory (The English School) POST-POSITIVIST THEORIES Constructivism Postmodernism Critical Theory Feminism 3/10
Readings: At the Caspian Sea University: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0b1_z5acd6mbpngjdsujlx2t4zg8?usp=sharing Robert Jackson and Georg Sørensen, Introduction to International Relations. Theories and Approaches, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013 (5th edition), Ch.5 International Society. P. Viotti and M. Kauppi, International Relations Theory: Realism, Pluralism, Globalism, and Beyond. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2012 (5th edition), Ch.5 The English School. 4/10
Forerunner: Hugo Grotius freedom of navigation; international law; limit (but not eliminate) war Martin Wight - the three IR traditions: Machiavelli Grotius Kant "realism" "rationalism" "revolutionism" society humanity evolutionary change revolutionary change peaceful coexistence anti-state hope without illusions utopianism anarchy power politics conflict and warfare pessimism Realism English School Revolutionary Religions Utopian Liberalism Republican Liberalism Marxism-Leninism 5/10
English School Other authors: Martin Wight, [Raymond] John Vincent Main author: Hedley Bull (The Anarchical Society, 1977): - based on philosophy, history and law - "explicit reliance upon the exercise of judgement" - "traditional" approach (anti-behaviouralist): o IR value-neutral science that applies and tests models and hypotheses o There are no Waltz-type structures that impose with "law-like regularity" the behaviour of actors, thus allowing "predictions" o states do not have an existence separate from the human beings o IR = a special branch of human relations that involves rules, norms and values o IR issues = human issues = value-laden no value-neutral scientific answer International Society Theory: - contemporary of Neorealism and Neoliberalism - a classical theory - between classical realism and classical liberalism - the first step towards post-positivism 6/10
Martin Wight (1913-1972) Hedley Bull (1932-1985) 7/10
IR main actors IR view Key element Sovereign states Importance of statespeople leading them IOs, NGOs, multinationals = subordinate to states IR = a study of war and peace States = human organizations Anarchy BUT There are mechanisms that regulate the international anarchy Despite anarchy, there is a society of states = "anarchical society" = "international society" (a worldwide social order of independent states) Hedley Bull: international society = a group of states that share a set of rules and institutions Society = WEAK links (Community = strong links) Ferdinand Tönnies, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Society, 1887) 8/10
Tönnies distinguished between two types of social groupings. Gemeinschaft often translated as community (or left untranslated) refers to groupings based on feelings of togetherness and on mutual bonds, which are felt as a goal to be kept up, their members being means for this goal. Gesellschaft often translated as society on the other hand, refers to groups that are sustained by it being instrumental for their members' individual aims and goals. Gemeinschaft may be exemplified historically by a family or a neighborhood in a pre-modern (rural) society; Gesellschaft by a joint-stock company or a state in a modern society, i.e. the society when Tönnies lived. Gesellschaft relationships arose in an urban and capitalist setting, characterized by individualism and impersonal monetary connections between people. Social ties were often instrumental and superficial, with self-interest and exploitation increasingly the norm. Examples are corporations, states, or voluntary associations. 9/10
Fundamental values International order International justice (= moral rules) State sovereignty Human rights "Institutions" sustaining international order (in fact, mechanisms) Institutions=a set of habits and practices shaped towards the realisation of common goals [The managerial system of] great powers Balance of power International law Diplomacy War War (interstate war, not civil war) = an international institution - legitimate - includes norms and rules Helps regulate the international system. The historical alternative to interstate war peace = medieval social anarchy Monopoly of war by states promoted the value of order The English School opened the way to post-positivism and constructivism. 10/10