Early Modern Peace and International Society: Using Disciplinary Hybridity to Question the Pax Hispanica (1598–1618)

ABSTRACT Between the academic fields of International Relations and History there currently exist few real crossovers, despite the fact that both disciplines would benefit from an improved working relationship. As this is especially the case with regard to the pre-modern past, this article offers a new perspective on the possibilities of increased interaction in the field of Early Modern peace-making. Rather than setting up an abstract debate on how the different methodologies of IR and History might be combined, the text provides a hands-on example of how such disciplinary hybridity could work. By analysing the specific historical case of the 1598–1618 Pax Hispanica through the analytical lens of Hedley Bull's International Society, it is highlighted what can be gained from such an experiment. By taking several steps that fuse the key elements of historical and IR research - including the contextualisation of Bull's theory, the categorisation of historical structures, and the re-assessment of the actual peace treaties - new elements about the occurrence of the Pax Hispanica and the mechanics of International Society are revealed. Nevertheless, these results form only a starting point for further discussion about the value of such increased interdisciplinary research.