Martin Wight

  • Tim Dunne
Chapter
Part of the St Antony’s Series book series

Abstract

Wight’s contribution to International Relations is a matter of dispute. For those identifying themselves with the English School, Wight is something of a godfather. Such a caricature resonates with both a literal and a symbolic meaning. In the case of the former, Wight maintained throughout his life deeply held religious beliefs, principles which often sat uneasily alongside the body of his work on international theory. The reasons for suggesting that Wight should be accorded this status for his contribution to the English School are twofold; first, his transcendence of the realist / idealist dichotomy and subsequent discovery of a middle way, the ‘Grotian’ or ‘rationalist’ tradition; second, his pioneering historical sociology of states systems. The focus for this chapter will mainly be on the former (as Wight’s British Committee work is discussed in detail in Chapters 5 and 6).

Keywords

International Society Religious Belief Power Politics International Relation Political Theory 
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Copyright information

© Tim Dunne 1998

Authors and Affiliations

  • Tim Dunne
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of International PoliticsUniversity of WalesAberystwythUK

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