Synopses & Reviews
Can international legitimacy operate even in a deformed balance of power, and when there is only one dominant state? Conventionally, hegemony has been perceived as a threat to international society. But how then is international order to be maintained, if this still requires a managerial role on the part of the great powers? International Relations theory has not taken that problem sufficiently seriously.
Hegemony in International Society study makes a sharp distinction between primacy, denoting merely a form of material power, and hegemony, understood as a legitimate practice, and as giving rise to a form of social power. Clark suggests hegemony be considered as one potential institution of international society, and hence as one possible mechanism of international order.
Hegemony in International Society reviews some relevant historical cases (the Concert of Europe, Pax Britannica, and Pax Americana) and argues that, instead of one model of hegemony, these represent several different variants: importantly, each displays its own distinctive legitimacy dynamics. Once these are appreciated, they can help us identify the possible institutional forms of hegemony in contemporary international society. This is done through three cases, examining in turn US policy on the UN Security Council, in East Asia, and on climate change. The overall argument challenges the limited post-Cold War debate about primacy, and the equally simplistic projections about the future distribution of power to which it gives rise. In doing so, it offers a major re-thinking of the concept of hegemony in international relations.
Review
"Ian Clark has done more than any other contemporary scholar to extend our understanding of the history of modern international society and its basic principles ... This is a rich, nuanced book that ranges more widely than most, making summary difficult. Clark aims to add historical and theoretical sophistication to hegemony, and he achieves this with aplomb."-- Ian Hall, International Affairs
"He does a fine job of summarizing the different interpretations of hegemony in the English School tradition. ... Clark's creative re-theorization of hegemony is a valuable contribution to international relations theory that will fuel many interesting conversations." --Political Science Quarterly
About the Author
Ian Clark is E.H. Carr Professor of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, and previously taught at the University of Cambridge. He has published many books on the history and theory of international relations, most recently
Legitimacy in International Society, and
International Legitimacy and World Society. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2010 was elected a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Is Hegemony Compatible with International Society?
Part I: A Theory of Hegemony
1. Hegemony and International Relations Theory
2. An English-School Theory of Hegemony
3. Legitimacy and the Institutional Forms of Hegemony
Part II: Hegemony in Historical International Society
4. Collective Hegemony: The Concert of Europe 1815-1914
5. Singular Hegemony: Pax Britannica 1815-1914
6. Coalitional Hegemony: Pax Americana 1945-71
Part III: Hegemony in Contemporary International Society
7. Hegemony in International Organization: The UN Security Council
8. Hegemony in Regional Order: East Asia
9. Hegemony in International Policy: The Climate Change Regime
Conclusion: The United States in International Society