Review:Linklater, Andrew. Violence and Civilization in the Western States-Systems. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

The late Andrew Linklater (1949-2023) has been considered one of the most influential scholars within the field of International Relations. This was the result of his innovative synthesis into the field, with others, of the historical sociology of Norbert Elias (1897- 1990), work that addressed the long-term figuration processes of societies. This synthesis was enriched with the insights of the English School of International Relations, as devised by Martin Wight (1913-1972) and Hedley Bull (1932-1985), scholars who analyzed the many and differing interlocking networks and connections amongst geopolitical actors on the world stage. These efforts led Linklater to his final trilogy of works that addressed the different ways that violence has played in the creation and conceptions of world order: The Problem of Harm in World Politics: Theoretical Investigations (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Violence and Civilization in the Western States-Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2017) and, finally, The Idea of Civilization and the Making of the Global Order (Policy Press, 2020).