Cultures of Anarchy as Figurations: Reflections on Wendt, Elias and the English School

Abstract

This article proposes a strict conception of relationism. Elements of such thinking can be found in the sociological work of Norbert Elias (1978a, 2001), in the philosophical work of Dewey and Bentley (1975) and in IR in the works of Patrick Thaddeus Jackson and Daniel Nexon (1999), as well as Andrew Linklater (2004, 2005, 2007a, 2011). The article is intended to show that a fruitful dialogue between this brand of relationism and the contributions of Wendt (1999) and the English School can occur. Indeed, if Wendt’s project is to explain violence and its modes of regulation at the international system level, then Elias can be especially useful as most of his writings were dedicated to an understanding of violence and its control. Similarly, Elias shares a historical approach with the English School that can lead to a productive exchange of ideas. In the first part, I will lay out the principles of relational thinking and its implications for IR theory. In a second part, I will reconstruct Wendt’s concept of anarchic culture by integrating some Eliasian insights. In the last part, I will briefly look at a possible and necessary dialogue between the English School thinkers (I rely primarily on Martin Wight’s work) and Eliasians.