This article discusses the arguments put forth by the English School of International Relations as well as by other authors who have written on the supposed existence of an "international society". I expound on the theoretical pillars that sustain the use of the concept, while also engaging in a critique of the flaws of the English approach and how their work is detached from the contributions that the discipline of Sociology could be making to it. I employ an analytical and discursive method that includes a review of pertinent authors who have devoted themselves to the theme. I argue that there have been enough contributions - which I proceed to analyze by topics - to allow for a theoretical grounding of the concept. Contributions coming from the discipline of International Relations are funneled through a concept of "international society" that is over-focused on the state character of the latter, and thus not consistent with the reality of a world that is increasingly complex in its interactions at all levels, state and individual. Therefore, I believe that academic studies need to employ a notion of society that is closer to the values and instruments provided by a sociological approach. Finally, at the end of my text, I propose a conceptual broadening that is able to include individual elements and the subsequent contributions of social theory.
International Society; English School of International Relations; International Institutions