Bringing together an international team of contributors, this volume draws on international political theory and intellectual history to rethink the problem of a pluralistic world order.
Inspired by the work of international political theorist Nicholas Rengger, the book focuses on three main areas of Rengger's contribution to the political theory of international relations: his Augustine-inspired idea of an 'Anti-Pelagian Imagination'; his Oakeshottian argument for a pluralist 'conversation of mankind'; and his ruminations on war as the uncivil condition in world politics. Through a critical engagement with his work, the book illuminates the promises and limitations of civility as a sceptical, non-utopian, anti-perfectionist approach to theorising world order that transcends both realist pessimism and liberal utopianism.
Edited by:
Vassilios Paipais (University of St Andrews)
Imprint: Bristol University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781529224177
ISBN 10: 1529224179
Series: Bristol Studies in International Theory
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 11 April 2022
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
General/trade
,
Undergraduate
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. Rengger’s anti-Pelagianism: international political theory as civil conversation – Vassilios Paipais Part 1: Anti-Pelagianism and the Civil Condition in World Politics 2. Revisiting Rengger’s Anti-Pelagianism – Noel O’Sullivan and Sophia Dingli 3. Poetics and Politics: Rengger, Weber, and the Virtuosi of Religion – John-Harmen Valk 4. ‘Keep your mind in hell, and despair not’: Gillian Rose’s anti-Pelagianism – Kate Schick Part 2: Challenging the Anti-Pelagian Imagination 5. ‘A Dangerous Place to Be’? Nicholas J. Rengger, the English School, and International Disorder – Ian Hall 6. Rengger’s War on Teleocracy – Chris Brown 7. Conservatism, Civility, and the Challenges of International Political Theory – Michael Williams Part 3: The Uncivil Condition in Word Politics 8. Rengger the Reluctant Rule Follower – Anthony Lang Jr. 9. Rengger and the ‘Business of War’ – Caroline Kennedy-Pipe 10. Just War as Tradition in a Civil International Order – Valerie Morkevičius Afterword 11. Rengger, History, and the Future of International Relations – Richard Whatmore
Vassilios Paipais is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews.
Reviews for The Civil Condition in World Politics: Beyond Tragedy and Utopianism
In this stimulating collection of essays, an all-star team of scholars interrogates the work of the late Nick Rengger, one of Britain's leading IR scholars. They engage with the ideas that figured so prominently in his work, as well as the writers who meant so much to him from St Augustine to Michael Oakeshott. This is an unusually rewarding read. Christopher Coker, LSE IDEAS Nick Rengger was like a Renaissance intellectual - a sceptical scholar who embodied the ethos of civility. This collection of essays is a tremendous tribute to his lasting contribution to the 'conversation of mankind'. Adrian Pabst, University of Kent
