English School of Thought

Theories of International Relations and Foreign Policy

Faculty of World Studies

University of Tehran

Supervisor: Professor Vaezzadeh

Presenter: Setareh Keyhani

December9, 2019
 Table
★ What is English School?
★ The idea of ‘The English School’ as a historical construct.
★ The English School, International Relations, and
Progress.
★ English School theory and its problems.
★ Conclusion
★ References
 What is English School?

★ The English School of thought is a part of IR

theories which sometimes referred to as liberal
realism, the International Society school or
the British institutionalists.
The Idea of ‘The English School’ as a Historical Construct

The English School debate in the 1980s

Development in the 1990s

The nature of the English School

 The English School Debate in the 1980s

★ English School ↠ 20 years

★ After the publication in 1981 ↠ Roy Jones

1)Whether there is indeed such a school;
★ Topics: 2)Whether ‘the English School’ is an appropriate
name for it
3) Who its leading members are
4) How they differ from other schools of thought
about international relations
5) What their main strengths and weaknesses are.
Roy Jones (1981) on the English School

★ Scientific approach of international relations

★ The primary role in history of IR.

Suganami (1983) on the British institutionalists

★ Occupying the mainstream position in the British

study of IR.
 Development in the 1990s
★ After Bull’s untimely death in 1985, some scholars followed his
way. Such as:

1. Vincent

2. Wight

3. Andrew Hurrell

4. Tim Dunne

5. Nicholas Wheeler

6. Robert Jackson

7. Bull

8. James
★ Buzan’s article published in the American
journal, International organisation (1993) and
Little’s in the first issue of the European Journal
of International Relations (1995).
★ Wight ↠ three traditions of international thought:
‘Rationalism’, ‘Realism’ and ‘Revolutionism’.
★ Dunne, author and most hardworking scholar on
the field of the English School.
★ Dunne’s guideline 1)Self-identification with a
particular tradition of inquiry.

2) An interpretive approach.

3) International theory as
normative theory.
 The Nature of the English School
★ First

English School more than just a school of thought

★ Secondly

Dunne, it is a mistake to think of the English School as having clear insiders and
outsiders.
★ Thirdly

Recognise the history of English School.

• The first steps in the English School

• Who was the first person in this school of thought? What about now?

• Who said what? Why? The effect?

• Who is agree? Who is not? Why?

 The English School, International Relations,
and Progress

The English School and concept of a research enterprise

The hard core or axiomatic basis of the English School

 The English School and Concept of a
Research Enterprise

★ Any research enterprise proceeds within a

worldview or overall sense of what is going on
around us.
★ Thomas Kuhn identified the idea of a
‘‘paradigm’’ as holistic forming the foundation for
research.
★ Four reasons convince us that the analysis that follows will dispel
doubts, are:

First, our framework, enables us to evaluate any school of thought

within IR.

Second, the research framework is accepted in modern

philosophy of social science.

Third, the general usage of our framework allows the researcher

to describe and evaluate the School from either within or outside
its boundaries.

Fourth, we follow Martin Hollis and Steve Smith. ‘‘outside’’ and

‘‘inside’’ stories to be told about IR corresponding, respectively, to
explanation and understanding the challenging to combine.
★ English School scholarship believes that international states-
systems become international societies because members have
a common culture and develop mutual interests.
The English School Along the Continuum of Aggregation:
From Worldview to Hypotheses
 The Hard Core or Axiomatic Basis of the
English School

★ The founder of the English School is Wight.

★ The four axioms with parametric status in the English School are
as follows:

1. The primary actors in the international system sovereign↠

‘‘states’’ city states or nation-states.

2. In international relations, there is a ‘‘system of states’’ they may

sufficient impact on each other’s decision.

3. There is ‘‘anarchy’’ in the international system.

★ Wight ↠‘‘international society is a society unlike any other, for
it is the most comprehensive form of society on earth.’’ It has
four characteristics:

1)An unique society collected from the other fully organised

societies states.

2)The number of members is small.

3)Members are more different than individuals.

4)The members are stars whose policies are based on the

expectation of survival.
 English School Theory and Its Problems

English School summary

World society and the problems and potentials of English School theory

The main areas of weakness in English School theory

 English School

★ Robert Jackson English School is a variety of

theoretical inquiries which include of IR as a
world not merely of power or produce or wealth
or capacity or domination.
*Recognition *Association
★ English School has *Membership *Equality *Legitimate
interests *Rights *Reciprocity
*Customers & conversations
*Agreements &disagreements
*Disputes *Offences *Injuries
*Damages *Reparations *Normative
vocabulary
 World Society and the Problems and
Potentials of English School Theory

★ Two main elements of English School are

1. Three key concepts

2. Theoretically pluralist approach

 Three Key Concepts

★ International System: (Hobbes and Machiavelli / Realism)

↠ power politics and puts international anarchy at the
centre of IR theory.
★ International Society: (Grotius/ Rationalism) ↠
institutionalisation shared interest and identity between
states and puts the certain and keeping of shared norms,
rules and institutions at the centre of IR theory.
★ World Society: (Kant/ Revolutionism) ↠ individuals, non-
state organisation and global population as a whole as the
focus of global social identities and arrangements, and puts
supremacy of the state-system of the centre of IR theory.
 Theoretically Pluralist Approach

★ Pluralists think that the sovereignty/non-

intervention principles restrict international
theory to fairly minimal rules of coexistence.
Argue the diversity of humankind.
★ Solidarity thinks that international society can
develop norms, rules and institutions, covering
both coexistence issues and cooperation in
pursuit of shared interests. Believe that society
should do more for human rights.
★ English School theory represents in at least three different
ways:

1)As a set of ideas to be found in the minds of statesmen.

2)As a set of ideas to be found in the minds of political

theories.

3)As a set of externally imposed concepts that define the

material and social structures of the international system.
 The Main Areas of Weakness in English School
Theory

★ Levels
★ Sectors
★ Boundaries
★ Normative conflicts
★ Methodology
★ Levels ↠ In both classical and contemporary English School
★ Level is the system or global one.
★ Three key concepts international systems, international society, world society.

★ Sectors ↠Some similarities between the English School’s problem with

levels and sectors
★ Both involve a missing element that plays a crucial role in international and
world society.
★ Under levels, the missing element is sub-global or regional under sectors it
is the economy.

★ Boundaries ↠Theoretical part of English School generates three boundaries

separating its three key concepts.
★ Two of these are not problematic in the concepts on side of them, defensive
realism and pluralism make a good power-maximising imperialism.
★ Boundary between the international society and the world society is both
unclear and controversial.
★ Normative Conflicts ↠ two linked normative conflicts
within the English School.
★ One is between supporter of pluralist and solidarist
conceptions of international society.
★ Two is between international society and world society
(state rights/ individual rights).

★ Methodological ↠ two problems

★ First need any sustained effort to create a typology of

international or world societies.
★ Second what is need for the theoretical pluralism.
 Conclusion
★ English School theorists answer an essential question: ‘How is one to
incorporate the co-operative aspect of international relations into the realist
conception of the conflictual nature of the international system?’
★ Three distinct spheres at play in international politics: 1-International
system(realism ) / 2-International society(rationalism ) / 3-world
society(revolutionism).
★ International system based on realism and world society based on
revolutionism.
★ The English School focuses on norms, rules, institutions and values and
develops a new normative thinking into IR.
★ Five main area of weakness: levels, sectors, boundaries, normative conflicts,
methodology.
 References
★ Andrew Linklater, Hidemi Suganami, 2006 the English
School of International Relations, Cambridge University
Press, Chapter 1.
★ Balkan Devlen, Patrick James and Ozgur Ozfamar, the
English School, International Relations, and Progress.
International Studies Review, vol 7, no2(June 2005), pp.
171-197 .
★ Barry Buzan, from International to World Society? English
School Theory and Social Structure of Globalisation,
Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1.
 “If we want everyone to be well, we need to
rethink everything we do and the way we are
doing it in the world .”

–Sadhguru