Martin Wight (1913-1972) was one of the most original and enigmatic international thinkers of the twentieth century. This new study, drawing upon Wright's published writings and unpublished papers, examines his work on international relations in the light of his wider thought, his religious beliefs, and his understanding of history.

Martin Wight was one of the most influential twentieth-century British thinkers who investigated on international politics and continues to inspire the English school of international relations. Containing a previously unpublished essay by Wight, this book brings this essay, "Fortune's Banter", to light.

This book collects works by the late Professor Martin Wight (1913-1972), an historian and scholar of international relations. He conducted research on many topics, including British colonial history, European studies, international institutions, and the history and sociology of states-systems. He is nonetheless best known for his teaching about the political philosophy of international relations at the London School of Economics (1949-1961) and the University of Sussex (1961-1972). He is widely regarded as an intellectual ancestor and path-breaker of the 'English School' of international relations, even though this term only gained currency nine years after his death. While there is no generally accepted definition of the 'English School', it is usually construed as signifying an approach to the study of international relations more rooted in historical and humanistic learning than in the social sciences. Wight's achievements are consistent with this broad definition. This volume includes works in four categories: (a) traditions of thinking about international relations since the sixteenth century; (b) the causes and functions of war; (c) international and regime legitimacy; and (d) fortune and irony in international politics. In addition to classic essays such as 'Why Is There No International Theory?' and 'Western Values in International Relations' that complement his posthumous 1991 book International Theory: The Three Traditions, this volume includes previously unpublished works on international legitimacy and the causes of war. Wight's analysis of legitimacy examines the evolution of thinking from dynastic to popular approaches, while his work on the causes of war builds on Thucydides and Hobbes.

History and International Relations collects works by the late Professor Martin Wight (1913-1972), an historian and scholar of international relations. Wight conducted research on many topics, including British colonial history, European studies, international institutions, and the history of states-systems, and is nonetheless best known for his lectures about the political philosophy of international relations at the London School of Economics (1949-1961) and the University of Sussex (1961-1972). He is widely regarded as an intellectual ancestor and pathbreaker of the “English School” of international relations, even though this term only gained currency nine years after his death. The “English School” is usually construed as signifying an approach to the study of international relations more rooted in historical and humanistic learning than in the social sciences. This volume encompasses works in four categories: (a) standards of excellence in scholarship about history and international relations; (b) European integration efforts since 1945; (c) British policy in the Middle East, notably in relation to the 1956 Suez crisis; and (d) European politics in the interwar period leading up to 1939. This last category features four chapters by Wight from the noteworthy Chatham House collection sponsored by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, The World in March 1939. These chapters on Germany and Eastern Europe stand out as exceptionally thorough and discerning, owing in part to their reliance on a wealth of primary and secondary sources. This collection also includes Wight's reviews of works by Geoffrey Barraclough, Marc Bloch, Herbert Butterfield, R. G. Collingwood, Denis Mack Smith, Sir Lewis Namier, A. J. P. Taylor, Arnold J. Toynbee, Veronica Wedgwood, and other historians.

Foreign Policy and Security Strategy collects works by the late Professor Martin Wight (1913-1972), an historian and scholar of international relations. Wight conducted research on many topics, including British colonial history, European studies, international institutions, and the history of states-systems. He is nonetheless best known for his lectures about the political philosophy of international relations at the London School of Economics (1949-1961) and the University of Sussex (1961-1972). He is widely regarded as an intellectual ancestor and pathbreaker of the “English School” of international relations, even though this term only gained currency nine years after his death. The “English School” is usually construed as signifying an approach to the study of international relations more rooted in historical and humanistic learning than in the social sciences. Despite Wight's reputation as a scholar focused on historical and philosophical matters, he articulated noteworthy policy prescriptions in six domains: (a) the balance of power; (b) international order, notably regarding neutrality and nationalism; (c) nuclear weapons and international politics; (d) interests, honour, and prestige in statecraft; (e) disarmament and public opinion; and (f) the United Nations. These writings have been neglected, partly because his perfectionism led him to refrain from publishing many of them. However, as this new collection of his works (many previously unpublished) shows, he took distinctive positions on practical policy questions. He asked “Does Peace Take Care of Itself?” - as implied by Kantian principles - and concluded that it does not, and that purposeful action will therefore be necessary.

Drawing on the development of 'Grotian' scholarship in international legal and political thought, this book seeks to ascertain precisely what the term has meant, both historically and as it is employed in contemporary scholarship.

Explores how Vattel used the natural law tradition to frame a pragmatic and treaty-oriented model of the law of nations.

International thought is the product of major political changes over the last few centuries, especially the development of the modern state and the industrialisation of the world economy. While the question of how to deal with strangers from other communities has been a constant throughout human history, it is only in recent centuries that the question of ‘foreign relations’ (and especially imperialism and war) have become a matter of urgency for all sectors of society throughout the world. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the evolution of Western international thought, and charts how this evolved into the predominantly Anglophone field of International Relations. Along the way several myths of the origins of International Relations are explored and exposed: the myth of the peace of Westphalia, the myths of Versailles and the nature of the League of Nations, the realist-idealist ‘Great Debate’ myth, and the myth of appeasement. Major approaches to the study of international affairs are discussed within their context and on their own terms, rather than being shoe-horned into anachronistic ‘paradigms’. Written in a clear and accessible style, Ashworth’s analysis reveals how historical myths have been used as gatekeeping devices, and how a critical re-evaluation of the history of international thought can affect how we see international affairs today.

In the tradition of the English School of International Relations theory, this project from Robert Jackson seeks to show how continuities in international politics outweigh the changes. The author demonstrates how the world is neither one of anarchy, as put forward by realists, nor is it a fully cosmopolitan order, as argued by those on the other side of the theoretical spectrum. Instead, it is a world of states who acknowledge a set of moral constraints that exists between them.

This book is a comprehensive examination into the shifting international thought of Alfred Zimmern, a Grecophile intellectual, one of the most prominent liberal internationalists and the world’s first professor of IR. Identifying the writings of Burke and cultural Zionism as two important ideological sources that defined his project for empire and global order, this book argues that Zimmern can best be understood as an apostle of Commonwealth. It shows that while his proposals changed from cosmopolitan democracy to Euro-Atlanticism and to world federal government, they were constantly shaped by the organizing principles of a professedly universal British Commonwealth. It was the empire transhistorically chained to classical Athens.