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Hedley Bull : The Anarchical Society : A Study of Order in World Politics : A Review — Transcript

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0:08[Music]
0:26greetings to all
0:28welcome to cc lecture
0:31in this lecture
0:33we shall be having a discussion on an
0:35important book
0:37the anarchical society a study of order
0:40in world politics by hedlay bull
0:44in this lecture
0:45we shall attempt to explain important
0:47insights from the book the anarchical
0:50society a study of order in world
0:53politics by hedlay bull
0:56in this lecture
0:57we shall also explain
0:59the important aspects of the
1:03english school in international
1:05relations
1:06while explaining
1:08and reviewing the text of the anarchical
1:11society
1:12a study of order in world politics by
1:15hedley bull
1:18to begin with
1:19the anarchical society of study of order
1:23in world politics
1:24was first published in 1977.
1:28now when we look at this work it tries
1:31to present an important perspective with
1:33reference to analysis
1:36of world politics with reference to
1:39refining
1:40our understanding of international
1:42relations from a different angle
1:46as we all know that international
1:48relations has witnessed the supreme of
1:52the realist approach
1:54it is the realist approach which has
1:57been
1:58an important paradigm with reference to
2:00analysis of world politics
2:03the anarchical society a study of order
2:05in world politics published in 1977
2:09presented to us a new perspective to
2:12look at world politics
2:14further when we talk about importance or
2:18the significant place
2:20for realism in international relations
2:22one also has to see that how american
2:25perspective and scholarship too
2:28dominated the study of international
2:31relations
2:32when we look at the english school of
2:35international relations theory
2:37the very title of this book
2:41points towards the assumption of anarchy
2:45in international relations and this is
2:48from pointing towards a neo-real school
2:51as we all know that classical realism or
2:55political realism that has been defined
2:58by hans morgenthau's work of politics
3:01amongst nations
3:03talking about the six principles of
3:05political realism
3:07further
3:08the american political scientist kenneth
3:11waltz tries to
3:13refine
3:14realism by
3:16turning it as structural realism looking
3:20at
3:21the important perspective of anarchy to
3:25define the power struggle in
3:27international relations
3:29however when we look at both realism and
3:32neorealism
3:34statism
3:35self-help survival are two very imp are
3:39very important aspects
3:41of
3:42both the schools of thought
3:45though there has been a difference with
3:47reference to how
3:49the
3:50political realism was less scientific
3:53and new realism or structural realism
3:56was a more scientific approach with
3:59reference to understanding power
4:01struggle in international relations
4:04but both realism and new realism have
4:06been seen as
4:08rational theories justifying status quo
4:12in this regard the work of the english
4:16school in international relations
4:17perspective it makes an important
4:19argument
4:21for the existence of an international
4:24society
4:26the english school which is a prominent
4:28approach to the study of international
4:30relations it maintains that there is a
4:34society of states
4:37at the international level
4:40despite the condition
4:42of anarchy
4:44now with this background understanding
4:46we will now just begin the discussion
4:49on the work of head label
4:52now we all know that for any
4:55school of thought there are many
4:57scholars who write for it similarly many
5:00scholars have written for english school
5:02too
5:04head label was monte burton professor of
5:07international relations at oxford
5:10university
5:11head label also taught at the australian
5:14national university and the london
5:16school of economics
5:19when we look at hedley bull's work the
5:22anarchical society
5:25the study of order this work elaborates
5:28on the concept of order
5:31and while elaborating on the concept of
5:33order this work presents to us an
5:36important difference between two things
5:39and what are they
5:40namely
5:41difference between a system of states
5:45and that of
5:47society of states
5:50let us understand that
5:52he defines an international system as
5:55that
5:56where states have contacts they deal
6:00with each other
6:01as opposed to that an international
6:03society
6:05which presupposes an international
6:09system
6:10an international society that shares a
6:13set of rules and
6:15institutions
6:17further
6:18the work points out and we quote from
6:21that work
6:22all societies of men have certain
6:25elementary
6:26and universal goals
6:29and that they contrive
6:32per person orders
6:34to achieve them
6:37head label
6:39defines international order as once
6:42again quoting from the work
6:44a pattern of activity that sustains the
6:48elementary or primary goals of the
6:51society of states
6:54or
6:54international
6:56society
6:57now in this
7:00discussion one must point out that the
7:02book also tells us that
7:04why is there space for order and here in
7:08functions of the society of states are
7:11important to understand and what are the
7:14functions of the society of states that
7:16is
7:17preservation
7:19of the system
7:20and the society of states itself
7:23then
7:24maintaining the independence or external
7:28sovereignity
7:30of individual states
7:32peace
7:34limiting violence
7:35keeping of promises
7:37stabilization of possessions amongst
7:40others are important to be understood
7:43while we talk about society of states
7:47elementary goals as we just spoke about
7:50hedley bulls points out that life
7:53truth and property
7:55are
7:56what can be that is the elementary
7:59and the universal goals
8:01and
8:03as all societies have these elementary
8:05goals
8:06that they contribute purposive orders
8:09to achieve them also
8:13hedlebus perspective or understanding of
8:16international water that is
8:18a pattern of activity that sustains the
8:22elementary
8:23or primary
8:25goals of society of states or
8:27international society
8:30further system of states or
8:32international system is formed with two
8:35or more states that have sufficient
8:38contact between them
8:40and have sufficient impact on one
8:43another's decision
8:45to cause them to behave or at least to
8:48some measure
8:49as a part of the whole
8:52further society of states or
8:55international society exists
8:58when a group of states
9:00conscious of certain common interests
9:04and common values
9:06form a society in the sense that they
9:09conceive themselves to be bound by
9:12common set of rules in their relations
9:15with one another
9:16and that they share in the working of
9:20common institutions so therefore it is
9:23important to understand that is how the
9:26concept of international society as
9:29presented in head labels work
9:31somewhere is an alternate perspective to
9:35power struggle or lack of any authority
9:39in ir
9:40it presents a new perspective to
9:43understand ir that is how common
9:47interests common values can present a
9:50motivation
9:51to form a society wherein
9:55these common sets of rules with
9:57reference to relations with one another
9:59are an important factor
10:03the world order then is deciphered or
10:06understood in the sense that is
10:08patterns or dispositions of human
10:11activity that sustain the elementary or
10:15primary goals of social life
10:18according to mankind as a whole
10:22further
10:23it is very important to understand that
10:26is although
10:27the modern system of states are
10:29anarchical
10:31and that is what recording from
10:34head labels understanding here that is
10:37that is in no there is no hierarchical
10:41level of sovereignty exists before
10:45above or that of each state
10:47the states
10:49to some extent
10:51form a society with common rules and
10:53institution
10:55and that head label definitely points
10:57here that this society is always in
11:01competition with elements of a state of
11:05war of conflict and therefore
11:09one must not think of international
11:11society as the dominant element so
11:15therefore a new rationality is presented
11:18by head label to understand the power
11:22struggle the competition the important
11:24issues concerning international society
11:28then an important part of this book is
11:31dedicated to
11:33the issue of
11:34examining order in contemporary
11:38international system
11:40in this book it is pointed out that the
11:43chief function
11:45of balance of power it is to
11:47preserve the system of states
11:52however
11:53while discussing
11:54the important part in this book namely
11:57examining order in contemporary
12:00international system the book points out
12:03that current balance of power doesn't
12:06share a common culture as did the 18th
12:09and 19th century european balances of
12:13power
12:15then in this book there are important
12:16remarks about international order too
12:19and what is that that is
12:22it tells us that states obey
12:24international law
12:26in part and
12:28head label attributes it that is because
12:30of
12:31habit of inertia
12:34they are as if it were
12:36programmed to operate within framework
12:39of
12:40established principles
12:43the book also points out that order
12:46is part of the historical record of
12:49international relations and in
12:52particular that modern states have
12:54formed and continue to form not only a
12:57system of
12:58states but also
13:01an
13:02international society
13:04now when we talk about
13:06the issue of order we must understand
13:08that uh there have been important
13:10competing traditions of thought with
13:12reference to order firstly the hobasian
13:15or the realist birth tradition
13:17second the kantian or the universalist
13:20tradition third the grosjean or
13:22internationalist tradition
13:24order as per head labul it's pointed out
13:27in the work it is maintained by
13:31a sense of common interest
13:34in those elementary or
13:38primary goals
13:40further the book also has some important
13:42remarks with reference to power struggle
13:45and this is very important to understand
13:47because the issue of power struggle
13:49has been central with reference to
13:52understanding of ir
13:54head label points out that
13:57we have to look at power struggling a
13:59bigger framework and that is quoting
14:01from the work the contribution of power
14:04struggle to international order derives
14:06from the sheer facts of
14:09inequality of power as between the
14:12states that make up the international
14:15system
14:17further the work points out the great
14:20powers cannot formalize and make
14:23explicit the full extent of their
14:27special
14:28position
14:30the work makes an important observation
14:32that while international law
14:35depends for its very existence on an
14:38operating system of rules on balance of
14:42power
14:43preservation of latter often requires
14:46breaking of these rules
14:48further the work tells us that
14:51importance of international law
14:53does not rest on the willingness of
14:56states to abide by the principle to the
14:59detriment of the interest
15:01but in the fact that they so
15:04often judge
15:06it in their interest
15:07to conform to it
15:11the work also presents some very
15:12important insights with reference to
15:14diplomacy quoting the important remark
15:17from the work that is diplomacy
15:20presupposes that there exists not only
15:23an international system
15:24but that also an
15:27international
15:28society
15:31when we try to understand any work in ir
15:34and ir is a discipline that has been
15:36often defined with reference to
15:39head levels work too definitely makes an
15:42important remark with reference to war
15:44and that is once again quoting from the
15:46work
15:47from the perspective of international
15:49society
15:51war has been seen in the sense of a
15:52duality that is war
15:55retains its dual aspect that is on one
15:59hand it is a thread
16:02to be limited
16:03and contained
16:05and on the other hand it is an
16:08instrument to be harnessed to
16:11international society's purposes
16:15what we see here is that
16:17the important remark that how great
16:20powers manage their relations with one
16:22another
16:24in the interest of international order
16:26and what are they
16:28preserving the general balance of power
16:32again quoting from the work
16:34seeking to avoid or control crisis in
16:37their relations with one another
16:40seeking to limit or contain wars amongst
16:43one another
16:45they exploit their preponderance in
16:47relation to the rest of international
16:49society by
16:51unilaterally exploiting their local
16:54preponderance
16:55agreeing to respect one another's peers
16:58of influence and
17:00joint action as it's implied by the idea
17:04of a
17:05great
17:06power concert or
17:09condominium
17:12so what we see here is as we are
17:13discussing the important work
17:16by head labul we must understand that
17:20this work is an important text with
17:23reference to understanding the
17:26english school
17:27the anarchical society a study of order
17:31in world politics it gives a different
17:33perspective to understand world politics
17:36as contrasted with the realist and the
17:39new realist perspective
17:41as we know that the debate between
17:43idealism and realism or that
17:47liberalism and realism in ir with the
17:50important idea that
17:52how should one understand ir
17:55realism focuses on the conflictual side
17:58of international reality whereas
18:01idealism focused attempts to focus on
18:03the cooperative side and the english
18:06school
18:07often looked in the sense of the liberal
18:09approach as contrasted with the
18:11mainstream american scholarship
18:14attempted to look at that's how society
18:18of states at the international level can
18:21present a occasion of order
18:24head label
18:26as you all know that there have been
18:27various scholars in the english school
18:30but hedlebull's work the anarchical
18:32society is indeed very important here
18:35elaborating on the concept of order and
18:40most important presenting to us an
18:42important distinction between
18:44international system and that of
18:46international society now in all this
18:49society of states or international
18:52society world order with the idea of
18:55patterns of dispositions of human
18:58activity to sustain the elementary or
19:00the primary goals
19:02of social life amongst mankind as a
19:05whole what we see here is that
19:08this work while presenting important
19:10perspective with reference to power
19:12struggle
19:13diplomacy
19:14war this
19:16not only examines the nature of order in
19:19world politics but also tells us how
19:23order is maintained with reference to
19:25contemporary system of states
19:28further it also presents to us some
19:31important remarks
19:33and insights looking at the
19:35feasibility and desirability
19:38of
19:39alternative parts to world order so
19:43therefore it is also very essential to
19:46look at head labels work
19:48with reference to contribution to the
19:50english school in the light of looking
19:53at re-examining
19:56the nature of order in world politics in
19:59the sense of a new perspective to
20:02understand international relations
20:03reality now whenever we are talking
20:05about any review
20:07it is also important to look at
20:10earlier reviews done with reference to
20:12the book
20:13now
20:14we will now take reference to the review
20:17by edward l morsey the anarchical
20:20society a study of order in world
20:22politics this work is available at
20:24foreign affairs.com also
20:26and
20:27quoting from the work
20:29the review
20:30by edward and elmore for the anarchical
20:34society
20:36a masterful analysis of the problems of
20:39international order
20:41in contemporary society
20:43and of feasibility of such alternative
20:46models such
20:48as disarmament global organization
20:52a highly proliferated
20:54world and radical redistribution of
20:57wealth and power
20:59bull
21:00rejects these models and still argues
21:03that the state system
21:06can provide order
21:08peace and justice
21:10so therefore when we look at hedley
21:12bull's work it deliberates on three
21:15important questions
21:17and all these three questions are
21:20essential to be understood also
21:23while looking at the essential
21:26arguments of the english school also the
21:29book points out to important questions
21:31that is what is the nature of order in
21:34world politics
21:36when realism and new realism look at the
21:40conflictual side of international
21:42reality the nature of order in head
21:45label's work is pointing towards that of
21:48a optimistic picture
21:51further the book presents an important
21:54issue with that is how is order
21:57maintained in contemporary systems of
21:59states
22:00and with the discussion on balance of
22:03power
22:04war diplomacy and the second part of the
22:08book looking at maintenance of order
22:10definitely new insights are presented by
22:12this verb and that is
22:15what alternative paths to world order
22:19are feasible and desirable it is also
22:23always very beneficial to look at
22:25feasibility and desirability of
22:27alternative paths to world order to
22:30get a holistic understanding of
22:32international reality to understand
22:36global issues from a comprehensive lens
22:38and head levels work namely
22:41the important argument of the english
22:43school also
22:45that the system of sovereign states is
22:48not in decline
22:50as various literature with the rise of
22:53globalization with
22:56the rise of neoliberalism also
22:58the work in international political
23:00economy did point out that the market
23:02will take supremacy over the state
23:05but at the same time head levels work
23:08and the arguments of the english school
23:10that is the system of sovereign states
23:12it's not in decline and therefore it's
23:15not an obstacle to world order but
23:18rather the system of sovereign states
23:22has to be seen as an
23:24essential
23:26foundation of the world order so
23:29therefore dear learners when we try to
23:32understand the work of head label it is
23:35very essential that we must under
23:37situate
23:39the
23:40work of head label with reference to the
23:42important context in ir that is the
23:45anarchical society a study of order in
23:47world politics when it was published in
23:501977 that was a time when ir itself as a
23:53discipline was undergoing lots of
23:56churnings namely after the first debate
23:58the second debate and the new new debate
24:01and the
24:02with
24:03that time the cold war was also moving
24:07towards its last phase
24:10in that sense there was somewhere a new
24:13alternative voice as compared to the
24:16long-standing american perspectives the
24:18realist scholarships which pointed to a
24:20presence of an alternate society making
24:24an important argument for the existence
24:27of an international society and that is
24:30how the society of states at the
24:33international level despite the
24:36condition of anarchy definitely presents
24:39to us
24:40a new alternative to understand global
24:44issues dear learners we hope that the
24:47lecture on head labels important work
24:50the anarchical society a study of order
24:54in world politics presented to you
24:56significant inputs and insights we hope
25:00this discussion
25:01and the review of the book the
25:03anarchical society a study of order in
25:06world politics by head label shall also
25:09be useful for you
25:11with reference to understanding of the
25:13english school perspective in
25:15international relations we look forward
25:18to positive encouraging feedback from
25:21you all
25:24thank you very much
25:26[Music]
25:46[Music]
25:47you

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