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Abstract

How may literary figures contribute to international thought? This article addresses this question using the previously neglected yet archetypal case of novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, who pioneered the term ‘international thought’ in the early twentieth century. In its analysis of the Hardy case, the article offers a framework elucidating how literary figures may contribute to international thought not only through direct theoretical and conceptual advancements, but also indirectly in their use of literary techniques to reimagine the international and through their public figure status. The analysis draws attention to Hardy’s challenge to anthropocentric approaches to peace and his educational, emotional and humanitarian approaches to internationalism that may offer valuable alternatives to dominant rationalist perspectives in addressing a world confronted by ecological crisis and populist leaderships. The article acknowledges tensions in Hardy’s international thought, and offers the lineaments of a research agenda for further inquiry into literary figures and international relations.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Publisher Keywords:	literature, history, international thought
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) J Political Science > JZ International relations P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs School of Policy & Global Affairs > Department of International Politics
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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