Henry Noel Brailsford's Radical International Relations Theory

In: International relations: the journal of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies, Band 25, Heft 4, S. 479-498

Abstract

Compared with some of his contemporaries Brailsford is relatively neglected today. He offered incisive analysis of the international relations of his times, discussing political and economic aspects together. He grounded his contributions upon a view of human nature that drew on the ideas of Godwin, Shelley and Condorcet. A cosmopolitan, socialist political philosophy also underpinned his work. Brailsford was sharply critical of balance-of-power theory, which served to veil the actual intentions of statesman and the capitalist entrepreneurs whose policies they benefited. He was also critical, like Laski, of sovereignty theory which masked the dominance of capitalist interests in the modern state and international system. Over several decades these aspects of his work contributed to his proposals for a radical league of nations. His work will be of interest to IR scholars today.