Reflections On English School’s International Society Theory

The theory of international society,which includes two key concepts,namely sovereign statehood and state of anarchy,is one of the significant theory construction achieved by the English School.Traditional English School is inclined to develop its theoretical framework through methodologies like history analysis,but their theory of international society,is mainly designed based upon the modern Western sovereign states system,losing sight of the overall development of world history,especially neglecting the historical experience from non-Western states in pre-modern times.Therefore,it is of great significance to enrich English School’s International Society theory by applying history analysis approach into the study of interactive relations among different states in ancient East Asia.By analyzing the interactive relations among ancient China and the nomads,one can find that they share three typical features of a pre-modern non-Western international society.Above all,different states developed dynamic hierarchical relations among themselves.Ancient China and the nomads pursued their hierarchical status through understandable diplomatic instruments and maintained their interactive relations in a benign way.Also,different state rulers formed their common sense of diplomatic rituals and practices,which strengthened the hierarchical order.From their interactions from Han to Song dynasty,one can find that the commonly accepted diplomatic rituals and practices like intermarriage policy,worship of reputation or ceremony and formalization of diplomacy,to some extent facilitated the dynamic hierarchical relations.In addition,the hierarchical status in this international society possessed some traits of familial ties.Due to the intermarriage policy and plenty of familial beliefs,different states socialized with each other with certain features from the household.The interactive relations among ancient China and the nomads mainly extends the theory of international society in three ways.First,this case offers historical experience in ancient non-Western regions for International Society theory study,proving that besides sovereign statehood and state of anarchy,there also exists an international society formed by hierarchical order.Second,this case enriches the social implications of an international society.Common interests or shared cultural values are not the solely necessary foundation of such a society,the common sense of pursuing hierarchical status can also be a guidance for states to socialize with each other.Finally,this case provides insights into the stratification mechanism of modern international societies.Stratification of the international societies in ancient East Asia mainly rely on only one mode,while the modern system of stratification basically requires a hybrid of Westernized standards,thus lacking sufficient universality.