Postcolonialism in International Studies: Two Faces of Theory

Abstract

Postcolonial theory is gradually entering the research arsenal of international relations, although it is not yet widely represented in modern international political science. The importance of mastering the tools and techniques of this paradigm or a set of relatively close paradigms is associated both with the gradual rejection of the Eurocentric vision of global and regional political history, as well as the identification of spatial and temporal features of theorizing on international issues. In this regard, it is necessary to identify the internal potential of postcolonial theory and those ontological, epistemological and methodological foundations of this theory, which will allow more concrete application of its concepts, interpretations and causalities to international realities. That is why the article attempts to single out the basic types of the postcolonial theory of international relations while revealing their key methodological principles and assessing the originality of the object and purpose of the study. On the basis of the interpretivist principles of the analysis of theories, the author reconstructs the key ontological and epistemological foundations and features of the interpretation of causal relationships in postcolonial way of thinking. The article highlights two main types of postcolonial theory - Postcolonialism of difference and Postcolonialism of interdependence. Despite the similarity in the basic desire to liberate scientific discourse from the techniques and concepts of Eurocentric science, these types of postcolonial thinking differ in the degree of willingness to break ties with the colonial past, in the requirements for the final result of the study, and also in the appreciation of space and social time in theorizing per se. Based on the identified types of postcolonial theory, the author proposes the trajectories of interaction of the theory with other schools of research in international relations, and also identifies geographically limits of these types. Thus, the article demonstrates porousness, analytical potential and adaptiveness of the discussed approaches that makes them more useful for the current IR studies.