Conclusion: the Consequences of the State of Nature for International Relations Theory

Abstract

In this concluding chapter I will first demonstrate that the concept of the state of nature, even in its identification with ‘primitive’ peoples, still lies at the heart of mainstream contemporary International Relations theory. And, I will argue, it carries with it the same normative assumptions and political implications it had for classical thinkers. The implications of this case study of European political thought for the theory of International Relations, I will suggest, are to give up the concept of the state of nature.