Policy Press

Benevolence in International Relations

A Political Essay

By Frédéric Ramel

This English-language edition of a sole-authored book from Frédéric Ramel offers a defence of benevolence in world politics and argues that a diplomacy based on this principle is possible and even desirable.

In this first English-language edition of a sole-authored book from Frédéric Ramel, benevolence is defined as a moral principle which promotes temperance and attention to vulnerability. Ramel unpacks this concept, analyses its received meanings in different contexts and spells out its practical and ethical implications in detail.

In preparing this work for an English-speaking readership, the author undertook extensive revisions and included two additional chapters. It also includes a foreword from Chris Brown, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The French edition was published as La Bienveillance Dans Les Relations Internationales.

Frédéric Ramel is Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Paris, France.

Introduction

Part 1: Locating a Neglected Concept in IR and International Political Theory or Benevolence as a Notion

1. Going back to Sensitivity in IR

2. Cultivating Theoretical Reverberations

Part 2: A Moral Sensibility or Benevolence as a Disposition

3. Being Sensitive to Calm

4. Being Sensitive to the World Milieu

Part 3: An International Practice or Benevolence in Action

5. Benevolence in Moderation and Attention

6. Benevolence Around Us and Awareness

Part 4: A Global Orientation or Benevolence as an Extension

7. Keeper of the Good Beyond the Inner Circle

8. Benevolence at the Heart of a Mature Multilateralism

Conclusion