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The international political thought of Martin Wight

Porter, Brian (2007) The international political thought of Martin Wight. Review of: The international thought of Martin Wight. by Hall, I.. International Affairs, 83 (4). pp. 783-790. ISSN 0020-5850. (doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2007.00653.x) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:2317)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
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Abstract

The different responses in Great Britain and the United States to Martin Wight as a thinker of international relations reveal something about the contrasting academic cultures of the two countries. Wight was pre-eminently an 'arts' man, regarding history and philosophy as essential prerequisites for understanding the world. Above all he was concerned with the moral dimension in politics, whether domestic or international. His pacifism in the Second World War, curiously linked to his profound sense of realism, reflected deep religious convictions; indeed theology, and particularly eschatology, underlay much of his thinking. His career centres upon first Chatham House and Nuffield College, Oxford, then the London School of Economics and Political Science, and finally the University of Sussex. His lectures at the LSE on international theory achieved legendary fame, but he did not publish much in his lifetime. The appearance since 1977 of four notable posthumous works has enhanced his already high reputation, as has the increasing scholarly interest in the 'English School', of which he is now seen as a founding father. Ian Hall's book is a brilliant piece of analysis in which Wight's theological world view-which was not obtrusive in his teaching and writing-is investigated with a sureness that is probably rare among scholars in the international relations field.

Item Type: Review
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1468-2346.2007.00653.x
Subjects: J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Suzanne Duffy
Date Deposited: 19 Mar 2008 08:50 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2023 11:29 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/2317 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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