City Research Online

A New Institutionalism? The English School as International Sociological Theory

Schouenborg, L. ORCID: 0000-0002-2660-3403 (2011). A New Institutionalism? The English School as International Sociological Theory. International Relations, 25(1), pp. 26-44. doi: 10.1177/0047117810396992

Abstract

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.

Publication Type: Article
Additional Information: Schouenborg, L. (2011). A New Institutionalism? The English School as International Sociological Theory. International Relations, 25(1), 26–44. Copyright © 2011, the authors. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117810396992. Re-use is restricted to non-commercial and no derivatives.
Publisher Keywords: constructivism, English School, functional differentiation, international society, primary institutions, sociology
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
J Political Science > JZ International relations
Departments: School of Policy & Global Affairs > International Politics
SWORD Depositor:
[thumbnail of A New Institutionalism - accepted version (IR - Aug 2010).pdf]
Preview
Text - Accepted Version
Download (255kB) | Preview

Export

Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

Actions (login required)

Admin Login Admin Login