Hedley Bull On International Relations

In the study of international relations, the ideas of the English School are acquiring an increasingly important position. Among the English School writers, Hedley Bull is one of the most preeminent figures, and it is him who expounds the idea of international society. Besides, it is Bull who constitutes the main representative of the 'classical methodology' and the main thrust against the 'scientific methodology' of the second 'Great Debate' in the developmental history of the theory of international relations. This thesis engages in a comprehensive and systemic study of Bull's thinking on international relations as a whole.This paper centers on the following aspects of Bull's ideas on international relations:The first part of the paper summarizes the current studies on the English School and Bull's thinking on international relations, and clarifies the methods of writing used in this thesis, and illustrates the structure of the paper.The second part investigates into Bull's ideas on international relations. It firstly presents a brief introduction to Bull's life and his academics, and then concentrates on four aspects of Bull's ideas on international relations, that is, on the idea of international society, comprising the concept of international society, its historical ancestors, its basis in real life as well as its limits; on order and its maintenance in international society, consisting of the concept and the maintenance of order in social life as well as in international society, and the relationship between order and justice in world politics; on the ideas of the discipline of International Relations, including the theorizing of International Relations, its subject-matter, its research methods, and the relationship between academics and real politics in IR; and on ideas of some other issue areas, especially that of nuclear strategy.The third part explores into Bull's political philosophy and the characteristics in his thinking. The features are composed of plural values, rationalism and political philosophy of a conservative nature.The fourth part discusses the limits of Bull's thinking on international relations and its contemporary relevance. In concrete terms, it is about the limits of Bull's thinking, the relationship between Bull's ideas and the currently popular idea and movement of global civil society, and the implications of Bull's thinking on the discipline of IR for...