Session 4:- Hedley Bull & Classicalism

"A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it's not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It's more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together."                                                                                                                          -Madeleine Albright

Hedley Bull (10 June 1932 – 18 May 1985) was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. This article was written in 1966, in order to contribute to a great debate "Traditionalism (Classicalism) versus Behaviouralism".He sought to defend the traditionalist approach from attack by behaviorists.

The writer systematically synthesized, appraised and identified his research and provided a transparent study to its readers. His essay is not merely mirroring the situation but it is a gate keeping policing and a productive piece of writing, which is focused, clear and comprehensive to the readers.

Hoffman’s purpose of writing is to positively contribute to the field of International relation which not necessarily means totally new direction. Bull argued that taking a scientific approach could not advance IR theory in a meaningful way because utilizing scientific methods such as statistical modeling could not contribute to the understanding of an interpretive subject matter.

Furthermore, I personally believe that advanced tools and techniques of research, concept and models borrowed from other sciences or scientific method enriched the field of International Relations.The discipline of IR should be shaped by using both methods i.e Classic method & Scientific method, which will result a more systematic study which is more precise and exact.In the future, we can expect a compatible mixture which can help to optimize the both methodology used to improve this field.