Diplomatic Investigations Essays on the Theory of International Politics

Diplomatic Investigations is a classic work in the field of International Relations. It is one of the few books in the field of International Relations (IR) that can be called iconic. Edited by Herbert Butterfield and Martin Wight, it brings together twelve papers delivered to early meetings of the British Committee on the Theory of International Politics, including several classic essays: Wight's 'Why is there no International Theory?' and 'Western Values in International Relations', Hedley Bull's 'Society and Anarchy in International Relations' and 'The Grotian Conception of International Society', and the two contributions made by Butterfield and by Wight on 'The Balance of Power'. Individually and collectively, these chapters have influenced not just the English school of international relations, but also a range of other approaches to the field of IR. After Diplomatic Investigations ceased to be available in print, it became a highly sought after book in the second-hand marketplace. This reissue, which includes a new introduction by Ian Hall and Tim Dunne, will ensure the book is available in the normal way, thereby enabling new generations of students and scholars to appreciate the work.

Sir Herbert Butterfield FBA was Regius Professor of History and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. As a British historian and philosopher of history, his works include: The Whig Interpretation of History (1931) and Origins of Modern Science (1949). His main interests were historiography, the history of science, 18th century constitutional history, Christianity, History, and International Politics. Martin Wight was one of the most important British scholars on International Relations of the 20th century. He was Dean of the School of European Studies and a Professor of History the London School of Economics and the University of Sussex, where he served as the founding Dean of European Studies. Wight is often associated with the British committee on the theory of international politics and the so-called English School of International Relations. Tim Dunne is Pro-Vice Chancellor at The University of Queensland, where he is also Professor of International Relations. He took up this role after a four-year term at the as the inaugural Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He has written and edited twelve books, including Inventing International Society: A History of the English School (1998); The Oxford Handbook of the Responsibility to Protect (co-edited with Alex J. Bellamy, 2016); The Globalization of International Society (co-edited with Christian Reus-Smit in 2017). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Australia. Ian Hall is a Professor in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He is also a member of the Griffith Asia Institute and an academic fellow of the Australia India Institute. He has written or edited six books, including Dilemmas of Decline: British Intellectuals and World Politics, 1945-1975 (2012) and The International Thought of Martin Wight (2006).