World Society

This chapter examines Barry Buzan’s reconceptualization of world society as a master concept of international relations (IR), which is part of his wider project of reconvening the English School (ES) of IR. In his seminal work From International to World Society? (2004), Buzan clarified the concept of world society and elevated it to a theoretical cornerstone of his socio-structural reworking of the ES. By introducing three analytical domains – interstate, transnational, and interhuman society – Buzan also charted a novel path for studying the interactions between states and non-state actors. Later, Buzan refined this framework by identifying three versions of world society – normative, political, and integrated – which enabled a more systematic exploration of the primary institutions that structure world societal relations. However, with Making Global Society (2023), Buzan pivots towards a merging of IR, historical sociology, and global history, framing world society as a transitional phase in humanity’s socio-political evolution rather than a standalone analytical category. This shift replaces world society with global society as the main master concept, inadvertently reducing world society’s status within ES theory. The chapter critically assesses this intellectual trajectory, evaluating its implications for big picture analysis, while reflecting on the persistent conceptual ambiguities surrounding world society debates.