{"title":"What Watson can teach us about war and order: revisiting The Evolution of International Society","authors":"Charlotta Friedner Parrat","doi":"10.1057/s41311-023-00550-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this article, Adam Watson’s use of ideal types is revisited in order to distinguish between various kinds of international orders over time and address the different types of war which are logically possible in relation to them. The argument is that war differs between ordered and disordered circumstances, as well as among members, or between members and non-members of a given order. The aim is, first, to analytically distinguish between various types of phenomenon which all happen to include organised violence between political entities, and all be called war; and second, to demonstrate the utility of abstracting far enough from actual history to be able to apply analytical categories, a purpose which Watson would recognise. This contributes to freeing theorising about war from its Westphalian and Eurocentric straightjacket.</p>","PeriodicalId":46593,"journal":{"name":"International Politics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Politics","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-023-00550-9","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this article, Adam Watson’s use of ideal types is revisited in order to distinguish between various kinds of international orders over time and address the different types of war which are logically possible in relation to them. The argument is that war differs between ordered and disordered circumstances, as well as among members, or between members and non-members of a given order. The aim is, first, to analytically distinguish between various types of phenomenon which all happen to include organised violence between political entities, and all be called war; and second, to demonstrate the utility of abstracting far enough from actual history to be able to apply analytical categories, a purpose which Watson would recognise. This contributes to freeing theorising about war from its Westphalian and Eurocentric straightjacket.
期刊介绍:
International Politics?is a leading peer reviewed journal dedicated to transnational issues and global problems. It subscribes to no political or methodological identity and welcomes any appropriate contributions designed to communicate findings and enhance dialogue.International Politics?defines itself as critical in character truly international in scope and totally engaged with the central issues facing the world today. Taking as its point of departure the simple but essential notion that no one approach has all the answers it aims to provide a global forum for a rapidly expanding community of scholars from across the range of academic disciplines.International Politics?aims to encourage debate controversy and reflection. Topics addressed within the journal include:Rethinking the Clash of CivilizationsMyths of WestphaliaHolocaust and ChinaLeo Strauss and the Cold WarJustin Rosenberg and Globalisation TheoryPutin and the WestThe USA Post-BushCan China Rise Peacefully Just WarsCuba Castro and AfterGramsci and IRIs America in Decline。