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Balance is not the Same as Balance: Two Interpretations of the Same Concept. From the History of the Formation of the English School of International Relations
 
PIIS013038640015322-2-1
DOI10.31857/S013038640015322-2
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Victor Mironov 
Affiliation: Omsk State University.
Address: Russian Federation, Omsk
Journal nameNovaia i noveishaia istoriia
EditionIssue 1
Pages7-17
Abstract

The article analyses the substantive differences in the interpretation of the 'balance of power' between the two founders of the English School of International Relations, H. Butterfield (1900–1979) and M. White (1913–1972). The School's concept gained recognition in the 1970s as an original approach to the study of international politics through the writings of H. Bull. Over time, the notion of “international community” developed by the scholar became a symbol for the entire English School and a marker to demonstrate the distinctiveness of its concept. The aim of the article is to show part of the process of formation of an original academic conception by exploring the internal polemics of the two founders of the community in the 1960s. The sources for this study are the published texts of representatives of the English School of International Relations. The novelty of the author's approach is to identify the role of the concept in the system of views of two different scholars, bearing in mind that White was a disciple of Butterfield. Butterfield saw the balance of power as the essential historical basis for any discussion of international politics. For him, the notion of balance was almost identical to that of the international system. М. White saw the idea of an international system as the basis for a theory of international relations, where the balance of power was an important but not the only element gradually fading away from the practice of inter-state interaction.

KeywordsEnglish school of international relations, Herbert Butterfield, Martin Wight, balance of power
Received10.11.2021
Publication date25.01.2022
Number of characters35188
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