Social history from a bird’s eye view: Perry Anderson’s theory of international relations

Few living Marxists are more famous, yet Perry Anderson’s theory of international relations (IR) remains underexplored. This article is an interpretive analysis of Anderson and finds a coherent, albeit changing and at times contradictory, IR theory. It marks three phases of his theorizing: an internationalism, which sought to combat Cold War rhetoric of Western powers; a structuralism that attributed the Westphalian system to a synthesis of ancient and medieval modes of production; and a clear-headed radicalism of great power politics and increased agency. Yet this periodization also shows consistency of thought, one that emphasized hegemony, the complex totality, and a historicized view of sovereignty. Anderson’s IR theory traverses Marxist thought, such as that of the Gramscians, world-systems analysts, and those returning to Trotsky’s notion of uneven and combined development. His neo-Marxism is a distinct alternative to, yet relevant for, other radical traditions.