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New Thinking on International Society

International society refers to the dominant diplomatic and normative discourse in the practice of world politics. At a minimum, its rules and institutions regulate interactions by sovereign communities, prescribing permissible forms of behaviour. There is also a deeper sense of society in which members share values about the ‘ends' that communities ought to try and achieve. While this diplomatic and normative discourse is thought to have existed for several centuries, it is only in the last four decades or so that it has become a central concept in academic International Relations. The article begins by re-stating the research agenda for the study of international society as conceived of by writers belonging to the classical English School. It then considers in detail the way in which recent publications have sought to carry these debates forward. Three clusters of issues are dealt with here: system and society; rules and institutions; and the issue of normative change. The article concludes with an evaluation of the state of the English School within the study of International Relations.