Theorising International Society

In the process of developing the discipline of international relations, attention has turned to the 'social fact'. This includes the role that cultures play in questions of war and peace and the social structures that have consequences for diplomatic behaviour, such as American 'exceptionalism', or [...]
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In the process of developing the discipline of international relations, attention has turned to the 'social fact'. This includes the role that cultures play in questions of war and peace and the social structures that have consequences for diplomatic behaviour, such as American 'exceptionalism', or Central Europe's 'weak liberalism'. Interest in the 'social fact' has carried with it renewed interest in the English School, both as a body of theorizing an international society constituted by social practices and as a body of thought that emphasizes the role of ideas and values in diplomatic practices. The English School is particularly known for its attention to ethics and for bringing considerations of right and wrong to bear on questions of human rights, democracy and intervention. The original English School thinkers were not overly-reflective about their methods, rather assuming they were transparent. This volume seeks to rectify this omission.Its contributors are the major English School theorists writing today, and they have outlined the methods appropriate to an English School understanding of international relations, their analytical referents and their assumptions about how knowledge of the 'social' is gained. They make it clear what is involved in 'an English School approach', specifically at the level of research method, and what such an approach can deliver in the contemporary understanding of international relations.