Ken Booth FBA (born 29 January 1943) is a British

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

theorist, and the former

E. H. Carr Edward Hallett Carr (28 June 1892 – 3 November 1982) was a British historian, diplomat, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr was best known for '' A History of Soviet Rus ...

Professor of the Department of International Politics at

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. He has been a visiting researcher at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

; at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in Halifax, Canada; and at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He is a former Chair, and the first President of the

British International Studies Association The British International Studies Association (BISA) is a learned society that promotes the study of international relations and related subjects through teaching, research, and facilitation of contact between scholars. BISA has an international m ...

. He was part of the editorial team of the ''

Review of International Studies The ''Review of International Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal on international relations published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British International Studies Association. From 1975-1980, it was known as the ''Brit ...

'', and currently serves as both Academic Editor of the

Lynne Rienner Lynne Rienner Publishers is an independent scholarly and textbook publishing firm based in Boulder, CO. It was founded in 1984 and remains one of the few independent publishers in the US. It publishes primarily in the fields of international stu ...

''Critical Security Studies'' series and the journal ''

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

''. He is an elected Academician of the Society of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences. He was elected to the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 2006.British Academy Fellow: Professor Ken Booth
In a 1991 article in the international relations journal ''

International Affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

'', he set out a position which he labelled "utopian realism". Within the terminology of international relations theory, he is considered a

post-positivist Postpositivism or postempiricism is a metatheoretical stance that critiques and amends positivism and has impacted theories and practices across philosophy, social sciences, and various models of scientific inquiry. While positivists emphasize ...

and a critic of orthodox

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

by contemporary academics in the field of international relations.

Key publications

* Booth, Ken (2007) ''Theory of World Security'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) * Booth, Ken and Wheeler, Nicholas J. (2007) ''The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation, and Trust in World Politics'' (Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan) * Booth, Ken (2005) (eds.) ''Critical Security Studies and World Politics'' (London and Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publications Inc,) * Booth, Ken and Dunne, Tim (2002) (eds.) ''Worlds in Collision. Terror and the Future of Global Order'' (Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan) * Booth, Ken (1999) "Three Tyrannies" in Dunne, Tim and Wheeler, Nicholas J. (eds.) ''Human Rights in Global Politics'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 31-70. * Booth, Ken (1995) "Human wrongs in international relations", ''International Affairs'', 71(1), 103-26 * Booth, Ken (1991) "Security and emancipation", ''Review of International Studies,'' 17(4), 313-26 * Booth, Ken (1991) "Security in Anarchy: Utopian Realism in Theory and Practice", ''International Affairs'', 67(3), 527-45 * Booth, Ken (1979) ''Strategy and Ethnocentrism'' (London: Croom Helm Ltd) * Booth, Ken (1977) ''Navies and Foreign Policy'' (New York: Crane, Russak)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Ken British political scientists International relations scholars Academics of Aberystwyth University 1943 births Fellows of the British Academy Living people People educated at The King's School, Pontefract