International Political Thought Of Herbert Butterfield Study

Herbert Butterfield (1900-1979) was regarded as the foremost British historian of the 20th century. His impressive scholarship achievements in Christian theology and historical study earned him international recognition and honor. The main research subject of this paper was Butterfield's ideas on international politics. Butterfield's international ideas were closely interconnected to his theology and history study. Augustinian theology not only shaped his understanding of human nature and the process of history, but also created the base for his study on international politics. Butterfield's prominent achievements in history helped him a lot when dealing with international problems.The main subject of Butterfield's international ideas was Statecraft. Butterfield earnestly expected discovering the statecrafts of peace from philosophical understandings of human nature and human history, and from experience and lessons of international histories. There were two dimensions of Butterfield's statecraft, the first one was his understanding of the nature of international politics; the second one was his analyses on actual tactics such as the balance of power and diplomacy. The ultimate attention Butterfield's international ideas had paid was targeted to the morality in international politics, which was colored with Christian thoughts. Butterfield deeply cared about the role Christianity would play in peace process and the future course of human history. The profound moral ethic and distinct practical inclination harmoniously merged together in Butterfield's international ideas. They formed not only a distinct character of Butterfield's international ideas, but also the main reason why Butterfield's international ideas had possessed permanent values and significance.