Hegemony & History

144 Pages·2007·0.621 MB·English

by  Adam Watson

Hegemony & History
Alongside Herbert Butterfield, Martin Wight and Hedley Bull, Adam Watson
was a member of the British Committee on the Theory of International
Politics and a founding member of the English School. The committee
sought to explore relations between states in an historical context and
developed a theory of international society and the nature of order in world
politics. These theories have had an important impact on the discipline
of international relations, providing a framework and research agenda for
understanding international politics that continues to shape the discipline in
the present day.
This fascinating collection traces the development of Watson’s thinking
on international theory and politics from the 1950s to the present. Its
primary focus is on how present and past hegemonial systems function. The
quest also led him to explore a range of topical issues including:
• The behaviour of states in international systems and societies
• Justice
• Non-state relations, including the economic involvement of communities
and the role of other non-state actors
• Aid and intervention
• The increasing focus of international politics on individuals as well as
states
This book will be of strong interest to students and researchers of inter-
national relations, political science, history and economics, as well as
diplomatic practitioners and others concerned with international affairs.
Adam Watson, diplomat and historian, has published several books on
historical and international subjects; including The Limits of Independence;
The Evolution of International Societyand a study of the Muslim conquest
of South India. After 30 years in the British Diplomatic Service, culminating
with service as Ambassador and Assistant Under-Secretary of State, he
directed two Swiss human rights foundations. Since 1978 he has been a
Professor of International Relations at the University of Virginia.
The New International Relations
Edited by Barry Buzan, London School of Economicsand Richard Little,
University of Bristol
The field of international relations has changed dramatically in recent years.
This new series will cover the major issues that have emerged and reflect the
latest academic thinking in this particular dynamic area.
International Law, Rights and Politics International Relations, Political
Developments in Eastern Europe and Theory and the Problem of Order
the CIS Beyond international relations theory?
Rein Mullerson N.J. Rengger
The Logic of Internationalism War, Peace and World Orders in
Coercion and accommodation European History
Kjell Goldmann Edited by Anja V. Hartmann and
Beatrice Heuser
Russia and the Idea of Europe
A study in identity and international European Integration and National
relations Identity
Iver B. Neumann The challenge of the Nordic states
Edited by Lene Hansen and Ole
The Future of International Relations Wœver
Masters in the making?
Edited by Iver B. Neumann and Shadow Globalization, Ethnic
Ole Wæver Conflicts and New Wars
A political economy of intra-state war
Constructing the World Polity Dietrich Jung
Essays on international
institutionalization Contemporary Security Analysis
John Gerard Ruggie and Copenhagen Peace Research
Edited by Stefano Guzzini and
Realism in International Relations Dietrich Jung
and International Political Economy
The continuing story of a death Observing International Relations
foretold Niklas Luhmann and world politics
Stefano Guzzini Edited by Mathias Albert and Lena
Hilkermeier
Does China Matter? A Reassessment Human Rights and World Trade
Essays in memory of Gerald Segal Hunger in international society
Edited by Barry Buzan and Rosemary Ana Gonzalez-Pelaez
Foot
Liberalism and War
European Approaches to International The victors and the vanquished
Relations Theory Andrew Williams
A house with many mansions
Jörg Friedrichs Constructivism and International
Relations
The Post-Cold War International Alexander Wendt and his critics
System Edited by Stefano Guzzini and Anna
Strategies, institutions and reflexivity Leander
Ewan Harrison
Security as Practice
States of Political Discourse Discourse analysis and the
Words, regimes, seditions Bosnian war
Costas M. Constantinou Lene Hansen
The Politics of Regional Identity The Politics of Insecurity
Meddling with the Mediterranean Fear, migration and asylum in the EU
Michelle Pace Jef Huysmans
The Power of International Theory State Sovereignty and Intervention
Reforging the link to foreign A discourse analysis of interventionary
policy-making through scientific and non-interventionary practices in
enquiry Kosovo and Algeria
Fred Chernoff Helle Malmvig
Africa and the North Culture and Security
Between globalization and Symbolic power and the politics of
marginalization international security
Edited by Ulf Engel and Gorm Michael Williams
Rye Olsen
Hegemony & History
Communitarian International Adam Watson
Relations
The epistemic foundations of
international relations
Emanuel Adler

Hegemony & History
Adam Watson
First published 2007
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2007 Adam Watson
Typeset in Sabon
by Keystroke, 28 High Street, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
Printed and bound in Great Britain
by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Watson, Adam, 1914–
Hegemony & history / Adam Watson.
p. cm. – (The new international relations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–39343–4 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Hegemony.
2. International relations. I. Title.
JZ1312.W38 2007
327.101–dc22
2006018426
ISBN10: 0–415–39343–4
ISBN13: 978–0–415–39343–0
To Barry Buzan and Richard Little who have taken a long way
further the exploration described in this book and to Brunello
Vigezzi who has successfully shone the light of history on the
achievements and potential of the British Committee for the
Theory of International Politics where the exploration began.
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific—and all his men
Looked at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent upon a peak in Darien
John Keats
On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer
Contents
Series editors’ preface xi
Author’s introductory note xiv
Acknowledgements xv
1 Introduction: A voyage of exploration 1
2 The British Committee on the Theory of International Politics 10
3 Martin Wight and the Theory of International Relations 14
4 Hedley Bull, states systems and international societies 27
5 The Anarchical Society in the history of international relations:
Discussions with Hedley Bull 35
6 Justice between states 38
7 The prospects for a more integrated international society 46
8 “The Practice Outruns the Theory” 54
9 The future of the Westphalian anti-hegemonial international
system 64
10 International relations and the practice of hegemony 80
11 The changing international system 92
12 1878: A case study in collective hegemony 98
13 Hegemony & History 103
Bibliography 115
Index 118