Historical Sociology and International Relations: Geopolitics, Capitalism and State System

Abstract

This article attempts to critically address the development of the relation between historical sociology and international relations theory. It evaluates the main stages of the historical sociological approaches in IR and the main issues of contention. Historical sociological approaches to IR have evolved from a Weberian stage in 1970s and 80s to a point where it is heavily dominated by historical materialist approaches today. The focus of these debates is to develop a historical materialist understanding of the “international” so far dominated by ahistorical and positivist conceptions. The article discusses the relation between capitalism and the state system and the concept of uneven and combined development (UCD) as the major points of discussion within the historical materialist historical sociology. The article concludes by addressing some of the crucial issues of contention for the future development of a historical sociological analysis of IR.

Keywords

Historical Sociology, Capitalism and the State System, Historical Materialism, Unequal and Combined Development (UCD), Neo-Weberian Approaches to Historical Sociology.

Citation

Yalvaç, Faruk, “Historical Sociology and International Relations: Geopolitics, Capitalism and State System”, International Relations, Volume 10, Issue 38 (Summer 2013), pp. 3-28.

Affiliations

• Faruk YALVAÇ, Assoc. Prof., Middle East Technical University, Department of International Relations