Hegemony in International Society - Hardcover

Clark, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199556261 ISBN 13: 9780199556267

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2011

Synopsis

Can international legitimacy operate even in a deformed balance of power, and when there is only one dominant state? Conventionally, hegemony has been perceived as a threat to international society. But how then is international order to be maintained, if this still requires a managerial role on the part of the great powers? IR theory has not taken that problem sufficiently seriously. This study makes a sharp distinction between primacy, denoting merely a form of material power, and hegemony, understood as a legitimate practice, and as giving rise to a form of social power. Adopting an English School approach, the author suggests hegemony be considered as one potential institution of international society, and hence as one possible mechanism of international order. The book reviews some relevant historical cases (the Concert of Europe, Pax Britannica and Pax Americana) and argues that, instead of one model of hegemony, these represent several different variants: importantly, each displays its own distinctive legitimacy dynamics. Once these are appreciated, they can help us identify the possible institutional forms of hegemony in contemporary international society. This is done through three cases, examining in turn US policy on the UN Security Council, in East Asia, and on climate change. The overall argument challenges the limited post-Cold War debate about primacy, and the equally simplistic projections about the future distribution of power to which it gives rise. In doing so, it offers a major re-thinking of the concept of hegemony in international relations.

About this title

Review:

Clark's creative re-theorization of hegemony is a valuable contribution to international relations theory that will fuel many interesting conversations. (Political Science Quarterly)

Ian Clark has opened up a new and debate-changing way of looking at hegemony... a fine and thought-provoking book. (Barry Buzan, Ethics and International Affairs)

Ian Clark has done more than any other contemporary scholar to extend our understanding of the history of modern international society and its basic principles ... This is a rich, nuanced book that ranges more widely than most, making summary difficult. Clark aims to add historical and theoretical sophistication to hegemony, and he achieves this with aplomb.

extremely well structured ... any student studying the idea of hegemony, and wishing to gain from a contemporary English School viewpoint, will find considerable value in Clark's book. (eInternational Relations)

the book has accomplished a substantial reworking of the conceptual apparatus that has built up around hegemony, and made a strong case for inclusion of legitimacy in our models and theories of how we think about it. ... Clark's fine, rewarding book will be required reading for anyone working in the field. (David P. Rapkin, Japanese Journal of Political Science)

About the Author:

Ian Clark has been at Aberystwyth University since 1998, having previously taught at the University of Cambridge. He has published many books on the history and theory of international relations, most recently Legitimacy in International Society (2005), and International Legitimacy and World Society (2007). He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2010 was elected a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0199556261
• ISBN 13: 9780199556267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288