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Scholars of International Relations (IR) and Global Historical Sociology alike have recently become more and more interested in Eurasian order(s). Yet, most recent works on Eurasian historical international relations approach the subject from a long durée perspective, mostly focusing on "big polities" from a "high altitude." Central Asia, or "Turkestan," and its constitutive polities such as the khanates of Bukhara, Khiva, and Khoqand and the vast array of nomadic groups surrounding them are yet terra incognita in IR, specifically with respect to the pre-Tsarist period. By relying on both primary and secondary sources, this inductive research reveals how precolonial Central Asia was an interpolity order on its own, premised on heteronomy and based on the institutions of sovereignty between the khanates and suzerainty between khanates and nomads; territoriality; Sunni Islam; trade and slavery; diplomacy; and war and aq oyluk. This paper contributes to filling this gap, and to the broader literature on Eurasian historical orders, in three respects. First, it adds granularity, detail, and specificity to current IR knowledge on Eurasia by looking at smaller polities as opposed to empires, which as noted have been the main analytical focus so far. Second, the paper adopts an emic approach to uncover local practices, institutions, and norms of precolonial Central Asia, thus adding to the recent "Global IR" debate. Third, by focusing on a case where heteronomy was the rule, this paper adds a new case to the literature on the entrenchment and durability of heteronomy in historical IR and contributes to its theory-building.

While much of the English School has focused on liberal aspects of solidarism, forms of "illiberal solidarism" in contemporary international society remain underexplored. Drawing on archival material and elite interviews conducted in Central Asia in the period 2013–2019, this paper advances the claim that the Central Asian elites have developed the institution of authoritarianism in their region through the mechanisms of mimicry/emulation and praise/blame. By looking at specific discourses and practices over the last two decades, the paper discusses how the Central Asian governments have been using the new elements of the "democratic transition" in combination with the traditional legitimation offered by diplomatic recognition to secure authoritarian regimes in the democratic age, to create authoritarian state-centric solidarity in the region, and to make "avtoritet" and "stabil'nost'" fundamental pillars of the Central Asian regional order. The paper contributes to the English School literature by providing an initial account of illiberal solidarism and by showing how authoritarianism can potentially be an institution of specific regional international societies; to the authoritarian diffusion literature by demonstrating that authoritarianism can have a deontic component alongside considerations of domestic survival; and to the broader norm diffusion literature by focusing on the spread of illiberal values.

Interaction between individuals and states is considered a distinctive character of domestic politics, while international politics is the 'realm of states'. However, it is becoming more common to encounter loci where both states and individuals interact at the international level, such as in the cases of the Special Tribunals for Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Former Yugoslavia as well as the International Criminal Court (ICC). Within the International Relations (IR) theory panorama, one would expect the English School of International Relations (ES) to have the theoretical and analytical tools to conceptualize synergies between states and individuals, but this is not evident. This article asks, how does the interaction between individuals and states take place in the ES? We argue that this interaction takes place via 'contact points', defined as those international bodies that bring together states and non-state actors, be they individuals or groups, interacting on equal grounds in terms of rights and responsibilities towards each other. The notion of 'contact point' is developed inductively by focusing on the Office of the Ombudsperson to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. This research has theoretical implications. We aim to refine, sharpen and advance both the ES's theoretical and analytical architecture. The contribution we seek to make is one that will better equip ES scholars to conceptualize and analyse those secondary institutions that allow states and individuals to enjoy rights and duties equally. By so doing, we will make possible for the ES to provide a more fine-grained account for these synergies than other IR theories. The notion of 'contact point' does set a new agenda for the ES, since interactions between individuals and states are likely to become a constitutive essence of world politics.

Interaction between individuals and states is considered a distinctive character of domestic politics, while international politics is the 'realm of states'. However, it is becoming more common to encounter loci where both states and individuals interact at the international level, such as in the cases of the Special Tribunals for Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Former Yugoslavia as well as the International Criminal Court (ICC). Within the international relations (IR) theory panorama, one would expect the English School of International Relations (ES) to have the theoretical and analytical tools to conceptualize synergies between states and individuals, but this is not evident. This article asks, how does the interaction between individuals and states take place in the ES? We argue that this interaction takes place via 'contact points', defined as those international bodies that bring together states and non-state actors, be they individuals or groups, interacting on equal grounds in terms of rights and responsibilities towards each other. The notion of 'contact point' is developed inductively by focusing on the Office of the Ombudsperson to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. This research has theoretical implications. We aim to refine, sharpen and advance both the ES's theoretical and analytical architecture. The contribution we seek to make is one that will better equip ES scholars to conceptualize and analyse those secondary institutions that allow states and individuals to enjoy rights and duties equally. By so doing, we will make possible for the ES to provide a more fine-grained account for these synergies than other IR theories. The notion of 'contact point' does set a new agenda for the ES, since interactions between individuals and states are likely to become a constitutive essence of world politics.

Russia's "Asian pivot" remains focused on China, despite energetic Russian diplomacy in 2018 vis-à-vis Japan and India. The benefits of the enlargement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to include Pakistan and India remained unclear, and the overlapping memberships of regional organizations highlighted the challenges for security and economic cooperation in Central Asia.

Dimitrios Stroikos, Introduction: Rethinking the Standard(s) of Civilisation(s) in International Relations S. 546-556. - Keynote Address. - John M Hobson, The Twin Self-Delusions of IR: Why 'Hierarchy' and Not 'Anarchy' is the Core Concept of IR S. 557-575. - Keynotes. - Barry Buzan, The 'Standard of Civilisation' as an English School Concept S. 576-594. - Ann E. Towns, Carrying the Load of Civilisation: The Status of Women and Challenged Hierarchies S. 595-613. - Brett Bowden, To Rethink Standards of Civilisation, Start with the End S. 614-631. - Shogo Suzuki, Journey to the West: China Debates Its 'Great Power' Identity S. 632-650. - Edward Keene, The Standard of 'Civilisation', the Expansion Thesis and the 19th-century International Social Space S. 651-673. - Yongjin Zhang, The Standard of 'Civilisation' Redux: Towards the Expansion of International Society 3.0? S. 674-696. - Conference Articles . - Andrew Phillips, Civilising Missions and the Rise of International Hierarchies in Early Modern Asia S. 697-717. - Kalypso Nicolaidis, Claire Vergerio, Nora Fisher Onar, and Juri Viehoff, From Metropolis to Microcosmos: The EU's New Standards of Civilisation S. 718-745. - Erika Cudworth and Stephen Hobden, Civilisation and the Domination of the Animal S. 746-766. - Tanja E. Aalberts, Rethinking the Principle of (Sovereign) Equality as a Standard of Civilisation S. 767-789. - Manjeet Kaur Ramgotra, Republic and Empire in Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws S. 790-816. - Filippo Costa Buranelli, Knockin' on Heaven's Door: Russia, Central Asia and the Mediated Expansion of International Society S. 817-836. - Carsten-Andreas Schulz, Civilisation, Barbarism and the Making of Latin America's Place in 19th-Century International Society S. 837-859

This is a series of solicited articles requested by the editors of Vol. 51, emerging from a roundtable discussion held at the 2022 International Studies Association Convention. Each short contribution seeks to demonstrate the newest research of the English School of International Relations. These contributions tackle key questions including: the decline of liberal hegemony, the rise of China, the divide between soldaristic and pluralistic ethics, the engagement of the English School with Area Studies, theoretical approaches to grounding English School research and an investigation of the English School's intellectual legacy. Section spéciale École anglaise