The English School, International Relations, and Progress1

This essay evaluates the English School—a prominent approach to the study of international relations—as a “research enterprise” (James 2002). Our exploration begins with an introduction of a “continuum of aggregation” that conveys a given research enterprise, such as the English School, at different conceptual levels. The English School's axioms along with its negative and positive heuristics are identified and evaluated based on the classics and more recent works from Wight, Bull, and others. Conclusions and prospects for further development of the English School complete the review.