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"Normative Theory in the English School" published on by Oxford University Press.

English School (ES) writers have never developed a systematic account of hegemony, and most set out with assumptions that are `antihegemonial'. The writings of Hedley Bull, in particular, appeared to reject any notion of a legitimate hegemony. However, a social theory of hegemony that emphasizes its consensual nature does appear consistent with other ES positions, particularly on the role of the Great Powers. This article excavates an ES theory of hegemony. It develops the argument for hegemony as a potential institution of international society, by analogy with the role of the Great Powers, and by extension of other ES principles. This stresses not just the material power of the Great Powers, but their degree of social recognition. Accordingly, it suggests that such a view of hegemony is no more paradoxical than, say, ES acceptance of war as a similar institution. This fills a major void in ES theory which otherwise has nothing of interest to say about international order in conditions of primacy.

In this article I engage with the theoretical opening provided by Barry Buzan's From International to World Society? I present an argument for five functional categories, which should be able to encompass all the institutions identified by English School scholars throughout history. Their introduction should point the way towards a sounder analytical framework for the study of what Buzan believes should be the new subject of the discipline of International Relations (IR). This subject is defined as second-order societies, meaning societies 'where the members are not individual human beings, but durable collectivities of humans possessed of identities and actor qualities that are more than the sum of their parts', and where the content of these societies, and the key object of analysis, is primary institutions. The purpose of the five functional categories is to break down this 'social whole' and provide a set of lenses through which to potentially analyse international societies throughout history.

IN RECENT YEARS A NUMBER OF AUTHORS HAVE DRAWN ATTENTION TO THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN REGIME THEORY AND THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT SOME KIND OF SYNTHESIS BETWEEN THE TWO SCHOOLS MAY BE BOTH POSSIBLE AND DESIRABLE. THIS ESSAY OUTLINES THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM WITH AN EYE TOWARDS IDENTIFYING WHAT SUCH A SYNTHESIS MIGHT INVOLVE.

This article responds to Charlotta Friedner Parrat's critique of our argument that the English School of international relations should embrace a more thoroughgoing interpretivism. We address four of Friedner Parrat's objections to our argument: that our distinction between structuralism and interpretivism is too stark; that our understanding of the relationship between agency and structure is problematic; that our approach would confine the English School to the study of intellectual history; and that the English School should eschew explanation. We argue that if the School is to use structuralism, it must be clearer about how it understands structures and their relationships to agents. We argue too that interpretivism not only offers a better account of situated agency, but also that it provides the English School with one way to move beyond the description and classification of institutions in international society towards better explanations of international relations.

Jackson, Robert: International relations as a craft discipline Navari, Cornelia: What the classical Englisch School was trying to explain, and why its members were not interested in causal explanantions Reus-Smit, Christian: Constructivism and the English School Little, Richard: History, theory and metholological pluralism in the English School Keene, Edward: International society as an ideal type Holsti, K. J.: Theorising the causes of order: Hedley bull's 'the anarchical society' Bain, William: The English School and the activity of being an historian Wilson, Peter: The English School's approach to international law Robertson,B.A.: Law, power and the expansion of international society Mayall, James: The limits of progress: Normative reasoning in the English school