LAWIN

International Society

International Society

Law and Society

The Need for Law and the Rule of Law

Laws can change with time and according to location. See more about Rule of Law here.

The Rule of Law, with origins in the Magna Carta, means that individuals must recognize and accept that law is necessary to regulate society. It also means that the law applies equally to everyone, including politics in power. And finally, the Rule of Law means that no one in our society has the authority to exercise unrestricted power to take away our rights except in accordance with the law.

Law and Morality

While some laws serve a practical purpose such as governing property rights, others reflect the moral values of the majority of society. However, the relationship of law to moral standards can be controversial.

Law and Justice

The ultimate goal of law may be to ensure justice for all, but what exactly is justice?. Equality doesn’t necessarily mean applying the law equally to all people regardless of the situation. Is justice equal to non discrimination? Should justice be impartial?.

Historical Roots of Law

Western’s legal system has been influenced by many earlier legal systems. Many jury process, for example, is a modern version of Greek juries. The role of the lawyer comes from ancient Rome and the French Civil Code, created under the French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte after the French Revolution. Biblical law and the Ten Commandments forbidding murder, adultery, theft and the worship of false gods, has also influenced the development of some western’s legislations. Even ancient laws, such as the Code of Hammurabi, laws based on retribution-an eye for an eye- and the Great Laws of Manu from India have had some influence on the creation of some legal systems.

The English School and Its Core Concept of International Society

The idea of international society relies on the assumption of the “societal” nature of inter-state relations.

Globalization of International Society

Hedley Bull, in his volume co-edited with Adam Watson, “The Expansion of International Society”, demostrates that international society, spreading from the European center, reached the entire world, in several steps.

Resources

See Also

Formal and Informal Law: The Role of Ethics
Codification
Schools of legal theories

Further Reading

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  • Anghie, A. (1999). Finding the peripheries: Sovereignty and colonialism in nineteenth-century international law. Harv. Int’l. LJ, 40, 1.
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  • Ayoob, M. (1999). From regional system to regional society: Exploring key variables in the construction of regional order. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 53, 247–260.
  • Bain, W. (2003a). Between anarchy and society: Trusteeship and the obligations of power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  • Bain, W. (2006). The empire of security and the safety of the people. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge.
  • Bain, W. (2009). The English School and the activity of being a historian. In C. Navari (Ed.), Theorising international society: English School methods. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Bell, D. S. A. (2001). International relations: the dawn of a historiographical turn? British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 3, 115–126.
  • Bellamy, A. J. (2005). Introduction: International society and the English School. In A. J. Bellamy (Ed.), International society and its critics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Bilgic, A. (2015). ‘We are not barbarians’: Gender politics and Turkey’s quest for the West. International Relations, 1–21.
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  • Bull, H. (1966a). The Grotian conception of international society. Diplomatic investigations: Essays in the theory of international politics. London: Allen & Unwin.
  • Bull, H. (1966b). Society and anarchy in international relations. In H. Butterfield & M. Wight (Eds.), Diplomatic investigations: Essays in the theory of international politics. London: Allen & Unwin.
  • Bull, H. (1984a). The emergence of a universal international society. In H. Bull & A. Watson (Eds.), The expansion of international society. Oxford: Clarendon.
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  • Bull, H., & Watson, A. (Eds.). (1984). The expansion of international society. Oxford: Clarendon.
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    One response to “International Society”

    1. international

      Despite its contradictions, the tendency to legitimize rather than criticize the status quo in international politics and commend it under the banner of order, the idea of international society and especially the English School’s elaborate discussion of its parameters have contributed to the development of IR theory. One of the chief inputs was that IR subject matter should be conceptualized in broader terms and should include social bonds between states, built on their common interests and encompassing norms and rules as well as institutions. In addition, the idea of international society helped emphasize the need for historical contextualization in the study of international politics and to counter the narratives and interpretations relying on power-political models of interstate relations on the one hand and idealistic accounts of a world government on the other. The English School’s most recognizable contribution to IR theory is the proposition that the international system cannot be discussed solely in material terms. It also cannot be exclusively looked at through an idealist lens. The idea of international society is supposed to provide the “third way” between realism and idealism/liberalism. While realism made conflict the major feature of international politics and idealism/liberalism focused on co-operation, international society was supposed to encompass elements of both conflict and co-operation (Bellamy, 2005). Though power still remains an important element, common norms and institutions have a significant role to play in structuring relations between states.

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