The Evolution of International Society: A Comparative Historical Analysis

Description

Adam Watson, who died in 2007, was a former diplomat who in his later academic career became a pioneer of the discipline of international relations. Originally published in 1992, The Evolution of International Society made a major contribution to international theory and to our perception of how relations between states operate, and established Watson’s place within the canon. This acclaimed and uniquely comprehensive work explains how international societies function across time, starting by examining the ancient state systems before turning to look in detail at the current worldwide international society. The book demonstrates that relations between states are not normally anarchic, but are in fact organized and regulated by elaborate rules and practices. In this timely reissue, a new introduction by Barry Buzan and Richard Little assesses Adam Watson's career as a diplomat and examines how his work as a practitioner shaped his subsequent thinking about the nature of international society. It then contextualises Watson's original work, situates it alongside current work in the area and identifies the originality of Watson's key arguments, helping us to understand Watson’s place within the canon. Dedication Contents Introduction to the 2009 reissue • Barry Buzan and Richard Little Introduction 1. Scope and definitions The ancient states systems Preface 2. Sumer: the original states system 3. Assyria: the first near eastern empire 4. Persia: imperial moderation 5. Classical Greece: independence and hegemony 6. The Macedonian system: hellenization of the Persian system 7. India: multiple independences and the Mauryan Empire 8. China: hegemony, warring states and empire 9. Rome: the final classical imperial synthesis 10. The Byzantine Oikumene 11. The Islamic system: adaptation of many traditions 12. The ancient states systems: some theoretical implications The European international society Preface 13. Medieval Europe: the originality of Latin Christendom 14. The Renaissance in Italy: the stato 15. The Renaissance in Europe: the stato outside Italy 16. The Habsburg bid for hegemony 17. Westphalia: an anti-hegemonial commonwealth of states 18. The age of reason and of balance 19. European expansion: overseas and overland 20. The Napoleonic Empire 21. Collective hegemony: the nineteenth-century Concert of Europe Summary The global international society 22. The European system becomes worldwide 23. The collapse of European domination 24. The age of the superpowers and decolonization 25. The contemporary international society: heir to the past Conclusion Epilogue: Some indications for the future Bibliography Index Important terms and concepts Important names and places