Theorising the Causes of Order: Hedley Bull’s The Anarchical Society

Abstract

The English School refers to the characterization of international politics that emphasizes the role of norms, rules, and laws in tempering the relations between states. Although its status as a ‘school’ has been challenged, the characterization has clearly supplemented other approaches to the field, such as realism and constructivism. The origins of the school were British, as its founders—with the notable exception of Hedley Bull, who was Australian—were all noted International Relations scholars in England. In recent years, the central concept of the school, international society, or the society of states has migrated far beyond the British Isles, and today has universal appeal. It has even made significant inroads into that bastion of scientism, the United States, where it has gained adherents and become institutionalized in a section of the International Studies Association. The term ‘English School’ thus refers to origins, and not to the broad impact it has had on international relations studies around the world.