Andrew Linklater
FAcSS
The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences.
Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...
(3 August 1949 – 5 March 2023) was a British
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
academic, and Woodrow Wilson Professor of International Politics at
Aberystwyth University
Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...
. In 2000, he was featured as one of the fifty thinkers in Martin Griffith's ''Fifty Key Thinkers in International Relations''.
Early life and education
Linklater was born on 3 August 1949 to Andrew Linklater and Isabella ''née'' Forsyth. He studied Politics and International Relations as an undergraduate at the University of Aberdeen.
He then received an
MA degree from the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
in 1971, a
BPhil degree from
Balliol College
Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.
With a governing body of a master and ar ...
,
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
in 1973, and a
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
degree from the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
in 1978.
His PhD thesis was titled ''Obligations beyond the state: the individual, the state and humanity in international theory,'' and was later published as ''Men and Citizens in the Theory of International Relations''.
Teaching
His teaching career began at the
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...
from 1976 to 1981, before moving to
Monash University
Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
in 1982, where he taught for ten years.
In 1993, he became professor of international relations at
Keele University
Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
, and became Dean of Postgraduate Affairs in 1997 until he left Keele in 1999. In January 2000 he joined the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth as the Woodrow Wilson Professor of International Politics.
Perspectives on International Relations
Until around the turn of the millennium, Linklater could be characterized as a scholar of the critical theory paradigm within international relations. In his 1990 piece, ''Beyond Realism and Marxism,'' he outlines the flaws in
Realism International Relations theory, the
English School theorizing, and
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
International Relations theory. Linklater argues that International Relations theorizing take a more expansive approach to the relevant actors which includes forces that generate human norms and structure human relations between societies beyond the class framework of Marxism. However, since the 2000s, he moved decisively to championing the relevance of the work of
Norbert Elias
Norbert Elias (; 22 June 1897 – 1 August 1990) was a German-Jewish sociologist who later became a British citizen. He is especially famous for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes.
Life and career
Elias was born on 22 June 1 ...
on the study of International Relations. His later books, including ''The Problem of Harm in World Politics: Theoretical Investigations'' (2011) and ''The Idea of Civilization and the Making of the Global Order'' (2021) show his close connections with the 'figurational sociology' school associated with Elias.
Research
Linklater wrote and edited several books on International Relations, but one of his most important works is ''The Transformation of Political Community''. Published in 1998, it was hailed by fellow academics Chris Brown and
Steve Smith as "one of the most important books in international theory published in this decade". Linklater's research interests included the idea of harm in
International Relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
and
critical theories of International Relations. In 2001 he became a member of the
Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
, and in 2005 he also became a Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
. He was also a Founding Fellow of the
Learned Society of Wales
The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...
.
Death
Andrew Linklater died on 5 March 2023, at the age of 73.
Publications
*''The Problem of Harm in World Politics: Theoretical Investigations'', Cambridge University Press, 2011.
*''Critical Theory and World Politics: Citizenship, sovereignty and humanity'', Routledge, 2007.
*''The English School of International Relations: A Contemporary Assessment'' (with Hidemi Suganami),
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, 2006.
*''Theories of International Relations'' (edited with Scott Burchill),
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...
, 2013. (Now on its fifth edition, originally published in 1996)
*''Political Loyalty and the Nation-State'' (edited with Michael Waller),
Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, 2003.
*''International Relations: Critical Concepts in Political Science'', Routledge, 2000
*''The Transformation of Political Community: Ethical Foundations of the Post-westphalian Era,'' Polity Press, 1998.
*''Boundaries in Question: New Directions in International Relations,'' (edited with
John MacMillan) Frances Pinter, 1995.
*''Beyond Realism and Marxism: Critical Theory and International Relations'', MacMillan Press, 1990.
*''New Horizons in Politics: Essays with an Australian Focus'', (edited with Hugh V. Emy), Allen and Unwin, 1990.
*''Men and Citizens in the Theory of International Relations'', MacMillan Press, 1982.
*''New Dimensions in World Politics,'' (edited with G. Goodwin) Croom Helm, 1975.
References
External links
List of all publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linklater, Andrew
1949 births
2023 deaths
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Academics of Keele University
Academics of Aberystwyth University
British international relations scholars
Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales
Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences
Academics from Aberdeen