On Ian Hall’s Study Of The History Of International Thought

In the past two decades,research on the history of international thoughts as a sub-discipline of international relations has begun to emerge.Many Western international relations scholars have published works on the history of international thought.With the help of research on the history of international thought,Western scholars have tried to bridge the gap between international relations and history.Ian Hall is active on the stage of research on the history of international thoughts.With the help of concepts such as tradition,belief and dilemma,he has constructed a new world of international relations for us.In addition,Hall’s exploration and research on the discipline of British International Relations may provide some reference and reflection on the problems of the "Chinese School" in the field of International Relations.This article is divided into four chapters.In the introduction,it mainly introduces the background and significance of the thesis,as well as the research situation of Ian Hall by domestic and foreign scholars,research methods and deficiencies.The first chapter mainly introduces Ian Hall’s academic experience and academic achievements.Hall’s academic achievements mainly include essays,monographs,essays,book reviews,news and other topics,mainly related to the theory of international relations,India’s foreign policy,the history of international thought,and global governance and security.In addition,it examines tradition of thoughts that have influenced Ian Hall’s thoughts,including the English School,especially the thoughts of Martin Wight as an early member of the English School,the Cambridge School,and in particular,Mark Bevir provided the conceptual basis for Hall’s thoughts.The second chapter focuses on Ian Hall’s research on the history of international thought,discussing the development and changes of the methods of the history of international thought,from the anachronistic interpretation of classic texts to the contextualism of the Cambridge School,to John Gunnell’s internal discursive historyIVand to modified contextualism.The study of the history of international thought as a sub-discipline of the discipline of international relations shows a “Historiographical Turn”.Tradition,belief,and dilemma are the core concepts in Hall’s study of International Thoughts.These concepts are derived from Mark Bevir’s "Logic of the History of Ideas",but Hall has made certain extensions and development on the basis of inheriting these concepts from Bevir.The third chapter focuses on the three characteristics of Ian Hall’s research on the history of international thought.First,in Hall’s research,tradition and dilemma are the focus of Hall’s attention.Tradition explains the source of thinkers’ thoughts,and dilemma explains the reasons and processes of changes in thinkers’ thoughts.Second,due to his dissatisfaction with the current interpretations of international thinkers such as Martin Wight,Hall made new and different interpretations of some thinkers,and also discovered some long-neglected international thinkers,such as Lewis Namier.Third,Hall adopts a comparative method in the study of the history of international thought.This method helps us better understand the differences in the thoughts of thinkers and the development and changes between the thoughts of thinkers.The third chapter mainly sorts out Hall’s research on the subject of international relations from the perspective of the history of international thoughts.Just as White once said that the theory of international relations is fragmented and trivial,this chapter covers a lot of content,mainly including the relationship between history,literature and international relations,Hall’s review of the history of international relations in the 20 th century,the tradition of international relations thought in the United Kingdom and the unique development history of the discipline of British international relations,as well as mainstream and non-mainstream international relations theories in the field of international relations.Chapter 4 focuses on Hall’s research on the English School.Hall divides the development of the English School into two stages,and tries to sort out the research methods and philosophical positions of the English School.Hall believes that the English School has two philosophical branches: one is a structuralist branch based on modernism,and the other is a interpretivism branch.Hall more agrees that the English School as a "Broad Church" is developing in a more interpretive direction.Hall believes that Wight is a mystery,and the existing interpretations of White are more or less inadequate.He reinterpreted the international society in Wight’s thought and evaluated the intellectual heritage left by Wight.The conclusion mainly discusses the study of Hall’s history of international thought,especially the study of British international thought tradition,the discipline of British international relations and the English school,which may help us to think about the "Chinese school" in the field of Chinese international relations.