Conclusion

Abstract

This concluding chapter considers the larger research agenda of orienting scholarly attention to collective trauma’s multifaceted role in the international system—the need for a “trauma turn” in international relations, as well as an “international politics turn” in trauma studies. Too often, collective trauma’s role is neglected in IR, as scholars solely consider mass violence via the lens of concrete events with immediately apparent outcomes. Recognizing the complete legacy of mass violence as collective trauma unveils pivotal yet often latent dynamics that shape international politics over the long term. Alternatively, by incorporating insight from IR into the interdisciplinary field of trauma studies, scholars can better account for how international political systems both reflect and govern trauma’s diffusion. While this book only begins this vital new dialogue, its theoretical lens and case studies reveal the enormous potential of a two-way engagement between IR and trauma studies.