Angell versus Mahan: revisiting International Relations on the eve of World War I

Abstract

In 1912 a debate erupted between Alfred Thayer Mahan and Norman Angell. The debate revolved around what motivates states and what constitutes the fundamental bases of human conduct in relation to war, peace and material interests. The article traces the thrusts and counter thrusts of Angell and Mahan as they lay bare the errors and misconceptions of each other in a heated exchange that marked an important stage in the development of Angell’s thought and a fascinating coda for Mahan’s influential career. The article concludes that revisiting the debate entails a combination of estrangement and familiarity. To read Angell and Mahan’s imperialistic and often racist discourse is jarring and the level of disconnection experienced is evidence some progress has occurred in the field of IR theory. Yet there is also a certain degree to which we continue to live in Angell and Mahan’s world, one of competing theories of civilisational clashes and the supposedly pacific effects of trade and the rule of law.