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Hedley Bull in Context Arguing for Right and Wrong: Moral Argumentation in the Thought of Hedley Bull and the English School Stephen McGuinness BA (Honours) BD (Honours) A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences November 2018 i COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... Statement of Originality Statement of Originality ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed ................................................................. Date ................................................................. ii “Thinking is Research” - Hedley Bull iii Abstract Abstract This dissertation explores the moral argumentation of Hedley Bull and its influence on the English School of International Relations. The English School is an approach to IR theorising that seeks to examine the normative and moral aspects of international relations, engaging in moral arguments as part of its inquiry. However, while there is a wealth of literature on the content of the moral arguments that English School scholars make, the debate between solidarists and pluralists being one example and the tension between order and justice another, there is significantly less literature on moral argumentation, the process of moral argument, in the English School. Further, while Hedley Bull's thought more generally has received significant attention, again, there has been much less focus on Hedley Bull's moral thought and argumentation. This dissertation seeks to rectify this by examining first what Bull's moral argumentation was, and then secondly by articulating the development of moral argumentation from Bull to subsequent generations of English School scholars. It argues that Hedley Bull has made an important contribution to English School moral theorising, but the incomplete nature of his account has been carried over into the post-classical English School literature. The first key analytical contribution that this dissertation makes is that Bull's starting point for moral argumentation is the assumption that morality is socially constructed and moral arguments are characterised by competing moral priorities. The second key analytical contribution is that Bull distinguishes between two kinds of moral argument: moral principles argument, and moral foundations argument. The latter locates the debate at the philosophical foundations that give rise to moral principles, while the former assumes a common foundation and debates the application of moral principles to specific situations. The third analytical contribution is the articulation of the continuities and discontinuities between Bull and later English School scholars, highlighting that while later scholarship seeks to provide a deeper and more systematic account of the place of moral foundations in moral arguments, a number of the flaws have been carried over, demonstrating the need for a more rigorous account. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents Statement of Originality ................................................................................................. ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... viii Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Argument ................................................................................................................................. 3 Rationale ................................................................................................................................... 6 Boundaries ............................................................................................................................... 8 Outline of the Dissertation ...................................................................................................... 9 PART I ........................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1: Defining the place, shape and space of moral argumentation in English School Theory ................................................................................................................ 13 Defining the place of the moral in the English School ....................................................... 15 Defining the shape of the moral in the English School ...................................................... 31 Normative Theory, or Theory about Norms? ..................................................................... 32 Moral Scepticism ................................................................................................................ 35 Competing Moral Priorities and the Middle Ground .......................................................... 37 Conclusion: Defining the space for a more robust moral theory ...................................... 38 Chapter 2: Hedley Bull in Context .............................................................................. 40 Sydney University – John Anderson .................................................................................... 41 Philosophical Realism ......................................................................................................... 43 Oxford University – HLA (Herbert) Hart .......................................................................... 45 The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) ......................................... 48 Wight and the British Committee ....................................................................................... 48 Manning .............................................................................................................................. 55 The American Connection – A “Scientific” International Theory ................................... 57 The Control of the Arms Race ............................................................................................... 61 The Australian National University – From The Anarchical Society to the collapse of Détente .................................................................................................................................... 63 The Revolt Against the West ................................................................................................ 65 v Table of Contents Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 70 PART II ......................................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 3: Moral Argumentation in the Thought of Hedley Bull ........................... 73 Locating Morality in the Thought of Hedley Bull .............................................................. 75 Characterisations of Bull’s Moral Thought ........................................................................ 79 Empiricist ............................................................................................................................ 80 Humanist ............................................................................................................................
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