In Search of International Order: The English School Approach to the Analysis of International Politics

Abstract

The English School of International Relations is one of the long-established theoretical approaches in IR that systematically explores the purpose and the character of international order at the macro-level of international politics. It does so by analysing deeply embedded (the so-called primary) institutions and other related institutional elements, norms and practices. This paper aims to introduce how the English School theoretically conceptualise and analyse international order. The paper synthetises the core argument of the English School, discusses how recent debates develop it and which key cleavages are present in the English School. I argue and demonstrate that the English School has been dynamically evolving in the last two decades and that it can contribute to our understanding of the changing world. The paper also encourages developments of the English School research in the Czech academic context.