''The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics'' is a 1977 book by
Hedley Bull
Hedley Norman Bull (10 June 1932 – 18 May 1985) was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford until his death from cancer in 1985. He was Montague ...
and a founding text of the
English School of
international relations theory
International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories as a ...
. The title refers to the assumption of
anarchy in the international system (posited primarily by
realists) and argues for the existence of an ''international society''.
Despite its title, the book progresses well beyond the concept of "anarchy." The field of international relations is dominated by the
declinist paradigm of inevitable imperial fall and
balance of power or "anarchy." This is a
Eurocentric
Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism)
is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western worl ...
perspective based on the case of Rome.
[Max Ostrovsky, ''The Hyperbola of the World Order'', Lanham: University Press, 2007.] ''The Anarchical Society'' is one of a few, and one of the earliest, works to break the bonds of Eurocentrism: In “the broad sweep of human history... the form of states system has been the exception rather than the rule” (1977: p 21).
The book also outlines Bull's theory of
new medievalism.
Bibliographic details
* Hedley Bull, ''The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics'' (London: Macmillan, 1977), .
* Hedley Bull, ''The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics'', 2nd edn (London: Macmillan, 1995), (with a new foreword by Stanley Hoffmann).
* Hedley Bull, ''The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics'', 3rd edn (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), (paper), (cloth) (includes a substantial new foreword by Andrew Hurrell).
References
External links
Notes: ''The Anarchical Society''
1977 non-fiction books
Books about international relations
Columbia University Press books
English School (international relations)
International relations theory
Political realism
Political science books
Works about the theory of history
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