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Book chapters on historical international relations

Ted Svensson, Jens Bartelson and Martin Hall have each contributed with book chapters in the handbook ”Routledge Handbook of Historical International Relations”.

Ted Svensson with the book chapter ”Decolonisation and the Erosion of the Imperial Idea”.

The chapter maintains that 20th-century decolonisation, unlike previous historical episodes wherein particular empires were resisted and declined, represented a critical juncture at which the very idea of empire was substantively challenged and radically rejected. 

It led to the establishment of a large number of postcolonial states and signified a decisive reshaping of the international system—both in terms of its actual composition and the norms that came to guide recognition, membership, and ideas of sovereign equality. 

Learn more about the book chapter on Taylor & Francis’ website

Ted Svensson’s personal page


Jens Bartelson with the book chapter ”War and the Turn to History in International Relations”.

This chapter is an attempt to assess how the turn to history has affected the ways in which war is understood within the study of international relations. 

Bartelson argue that three things have happened to the study of war: 

  • First, whereas the traditional study of international relations has been invested in identifying the proper causes of war, the historical reorientation has brought a focus on its effects. 
  • Second, whereas the study of historical sociology traditionally has explored the role of war in state-making, historical international relations has explored the role of war in the making of the international system as a whole. 
  • Finally, whereas the focus on the constitutive and transformative functions of war has been instrumental in resolving the tension between history and structure in the study of international relations, it runs the risk of making war look as an inescapable source of change in world politics.

Learn more about the book chapter on Taylor & Francis’ website

Jens Bartelson’s personal page


Martin Hall and Torbjørn L. Knutsen with the book chapter ”Rome: Republic, Monarchy and Empire”.

This chapter, first, sketches the origins and expansion of the Roman Republic, observing that Rome's victory in the Punic Wars set the Republic on the road to Empire. 

Next, the chapter indicates the contours of a vast literature that addresses Roman expansionism, before it identifies a ‘military-agricultural complex’ as both a main driving force of Republican expansionism and a solvent of the Republican system of government. 

Finally, the chapter discusses the lingering impact of Rome on law, politics, religion and education of the Great Powers in general and the United States in particular.

Learn more about the book chapter on Taylor & Francis’ website

Martin Hall’s personal page


Information about the handbook can be found on Taylor & Francis' website