Hedley Bull And The Accommodation Of Power

Hedley Bull (1932-1985) was one of the most forceful thinkers of international politics in recent generations. His depictions of an international society where nation-states find order without a world government continue to resonate. But until now, the importance of Bull's earlier and broader thinking has often been neglected.

Based on Bull's published and unpublished work throughout his career, and his experiences in Australia as well as in Oxford and London, this uniquely comprehensive account brings together these many components. What emerges is the story of a scholar and one-time official whose work on nuclear strategy shaped his international theory, and whose study of Asia's changing balance and the third world informed his argument that rising powers had to be accommodated.

Bull often saw these changes as little more than accidents of history, but the established powers needed to come to terms with them if the world was to be an orderly place. Review: Often commented upon, close study of Hedley Bull's ideas of international order in their origins is rare. Robert Ayson's study is doubly welcome, not only in its thoroughness, but in suggesting the relevance of Bull's early experience and training for the formation of his ideas on the foundations of international order. - International Affairs