The Realist Logic of International Society

The purpose of this article is to reassert the importance of realist thought in the international theory of Martin Wight. Following Hedley Bull, it has become prevalent in international relations theory to present Wight as a rationalist thinker, and international society as a rationalist principle that offers an alternative or third way in international relations. I argue that international society is actually Wight's attempt to integrate two perspectives on international relations — the Realist and the Rationalist. I argue that this relationship is asymmetric — that international society is the product of realist impulses and logic which force the creation of a series of secondary institutional and legal mechanisms that can channel but not control the desire for power in international relations.