Questioning universalism, devising an ethics without foundations: An exploration of international relations ontologies and epistemologies

Abstract

In this article, I explore the ontological and epistemological assumptions of the ethical universalism that constitutes the basis for international intervention. I argue grounding ethical decisions upon abstract normativity diverts attention from what is at stake in specific situations and may lead to self-appeasement and de-responsabilization. In order to re-imagine political agency in an interconnected world, we must engage in a reflection about International Relations ontological and epistemological categories. I explore how pragmatism (especially in Friedrich Kratochwil’s understanding), as well as the work of philosophers of science and feminist metaethical philosophers, delineates pathways for a non-foundationalist conceptualization of how we know the world, how we relate to it, and how we may endeavor to change it as ethical and political actors. I conclude by advocating the cultivation of an ethics of responsibility based upon contextualized judgments and reflexivity rather than abstract universal claims.