International Political Theory Research Articles

George Hoare, Nathan Sperber, An introduction to Antonio Gramsci: his life, thought and legacy

This book addresses the diversity of interpretations of Gramsci’s thought with a view to providing a more homogeneous or coherent view of it, in contrast to that presented by today’s “veritable ‘Gramsci industry’ with a great many different Gramscis… [with] diverse and split ‘Gramscis’” (1). As such it may be of interest to readers from fields as diverse as international relations, anthropology, political theory, literature and sociology who are beginning to familiarise themselves with “the e...

A Study on Liberal Theory of International Politics from the Perspective of Japanese Civil Rights Advocates - With Focus on Patterning through Theoretical/Practical Analysis -

A Study on Liberal Theory of International Politics from the Perspective of Japanese Civil Rights Advocates - With Focus on Patterning through Theoretical/Practical Analysis -

Induction and Deduction in International Relations: Squaring the Circle Between Theory and Evidence

International Relations (IR) scholarship represents the pursuit of theory about how the world works or ought to work. Yet despite this broad orientation of the field, the process of theory building itself remains challenging. There is abundant professional guidance on how to refine and test a theory once it has been created, but how do we get from a vague interest in some area of IR to a specific argument that explains or interprets a particular aspect of international politics? This article aims to refine the theorization challenge by taking stock of—and advancing—the debate over the relationship between inductive and deductive inference in IR theory building. It begins with an analysis of the short shrift still given to induction by many in the positivist IR community—a tendency that follows from the criticism of inductive theory building contained in Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International Politics (1979) and its enduring legacy, despite Waltz’s own professedly nonpositivist approach—before progressing to consider the limits of a purely deductive approach to theorization. This article concludes that “creative-deductive” theory possesses key strengths, including its parsimonious and generalizable explanatory reach, and its truth-preserving quality. However, given the endogenous feedback relationship that exists between theoretical premises and empirical evidence, this article argues that it is only once we accept that induction is an intrinsic and unavoidable component of IR theory building that we can truly seek answers to the most important questions of international politics. Accordingly, IR scholars should strive to use the two in tandem as they set about developing new theory.

The value of global justice: Realism and moralism

It is a noticeable feature of the contemporary revival of interest in realist political thought that it has very much hesitated from exploring its implications for international political theory. This is interesting both because realism is one of the dominant intellectual traditions in international relations, but also as much of the recent debates surrounding global justice have engaged with themes that are at least germane to those of realism. This article will therefore try and extend some of the themes of realist political thought into the realm of global justice. While there might be several areas worth exploring, the focus here shall be on the realist emphasis on making sense of politics as a sphere of activity that has internal sources of normativity which cannot be reduced to moral first principles, the relationship between politics and legitimacy, and how these pose fundamental questions for the political nature of global justice. It ends by arguing that, viewed through the realist lens, the question of the legitimacy of international institutions should take greater priority in global justice debates insofar as this is fundamental to enabling us to understand justice in political and not exclusively moral terms.

The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy/Khrushchev/Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis - by Blight, James G. and Lang, Janet M.

The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy/Khrushchev/Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis - by Blight, James G. and Lang, Janet M.

Should global political theory get real? An introduction

This special edition brings together (1) the recent methodological worries of the moralism/realism and ideal/non-ideal theory debates with (2) the soaring ambition of work in international or global political theory, as found in, say, theories of global justice. Contributors are as follows: Chris Bertram, Jonathan Floyd, Aaron James, Terry MacDonald, David Miller, Shmulik Nili, Mathias Risse and Matt Sleat.

Will IR Theory with Chinese Characteristics be a Powerful Alternative?

The study of International Relations in China has dramatically increased over the past 30 years. Scholars have now developed a Chinese School(s) of International Relations theory, or at least, International Relations theory with ‘Chinese characteristics’. This recent Chinese move is neither new nor the first attempt, but located within larger efforts to move away from Anglo-Saxon dominance within the International Relations discipline by localizing International Relations theory. From this standpoint, although there seem to be more problems than promises in recent Chinese attempts, we still cannot ignore the great potential of this initiative, first because the pace of change is so fast, second because the number of scholars working on the topic is ever increasing, and last, because the rise of China brings more frequent interactions between Chinese and Western International Relations scholars. All these factors provide extremely fertile ground for any lucky, timely seed of Chinese International Relations theory to germinate, flourish, and proliferate. Over the past 30 years, the rise of China has become a sensational global phenomenon and also the most popular topic of discussion in academia, media, and policy circles. What has gone unnoticed, however, is the parallel development and rise of the International Relations (IR) discipline in China. In other words, the Chinese IR community is rapidly catching up with the mainstream IR community. First, Chinese universities and think tanks are proactively inviting contributions from prominent IR scholars worldwide with a view to learning new trends in IR. Second, China’s IR community is second largest in the world only to that of the United States, and these scholars are busily translating mainstream theories into Chinese. For example, Wendt’s Social Theory of International Politics, published in 1999, was translated into Chinese the very next year, while it took neighbouring South Korean scholars 10 years to translate the same book. Shambaugh raises several measures that can reliably be used to evidence this development in China. They include: The growing number of degree-granting institutions; the VC The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Institute of International Relations, Tsinghua University. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2016, 59–79 doi: 10.1093/cjip/pov014 Advance Access Publication Date: 29 January 2016

Power, violence, and nuclear weapons

This article contributes to an ongoing debate about the role of the thermonuclear revolution in realist thought and the viability of nuclear disarmament. Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt, it develops an immanent critique of balance-of-power theories of international politics. Immanent critique is a diagnostic process. It takes a thought system on its own terms and by revealing its contradictions from within, opens up new possibilities for transformation. This critique reveals how the ontological assumptions Kenneth Waltz makes about the nature of power allowed him, in the guise of an apolitical theory, to transform the violence of nuclear weapons from a threat to humanity into a source of security, and therefore a normative good. According to the logic of this argument, thinking past the limits of this thought system will necessarily need to include questioning and otherwise disrupting the tight association between violence and power.

Intervention and Non-Intervention in Classical International Political Theory: Immanuel Kant and J.S. Mill

Intervention and Non-Intervention in Classical International Political Theory: Immanuel Kant and J.S. Mill

The Responsibility to Protect 10 years on from the World Summit: A victory for common humanity?

Despite the rapid growth in Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) literature over the course of the first decade since the World Summit Outcome, there has been relatively little analysis on the relationship between the RtoP and Humanity. This is despite the fact that humanity is often invoked as a catalyst for RtoP action by academics and policymakers. Addressing the lacuna, this special issue puts forward an interdisciplinary investigation into the relationship between the RtoP and Humanity. To do this, it draws insight from International Relations, Political Theory, History and International Law. Contributors analyse the moral foundations of the RtoP, the relationship between ethics, politics and the RtoP, the role of humanity in a divided world, how the RtoP is framed, public opinion data on humanitarian intervention as well as media coverage of genocide. In so doing, this special issue opens up new avenues for future research as the RtoP enters its second decade since the World Summit.

Opening up Europe: next steps in politicisation research

In this commentary, an outside perspective, mainly informed by International Relations (IR) and Political Theory (PT), is taken. From there, three issues are identified that point to the next steps in extending the research programme on politicisation. First, it is argued that an exclusive focus on public media might be too narrow in scope, as important features of politicisation are not taken into account. Second, it is highlighted that chances are missed by placing exclusive focus on the EU, and again an opening up by comparing findings from the study of the EU with developments on other political levels is argued for. Third, the emerging focus on the consequences of politicisation is to be applauded from an opening-up perspective.

How Realism Waltzed Off: Liberalism and Decisionmaking in Kenneth Waltz's Neorealism

Neorealism is one of the most influential theories of international relations, and its first theorist, Kenneth Waltz, a giant of the discipline. But why did Waltz move from a rather traditional form of classical realist political theory in the 1950s to neorealism in the 1970s? A possible answer is that Waltz's Theory of International Politics was his attempt to reconceive classical realism in a liberal form. Classical realism paid a great deal of attention to decisionmaking and statesmanship, and concomitantly asserted a nostalgic, anti-liberal political ideology. Neorealism, by contrast, dismissed the issue of foreign policymaking and decisionmaking. This shift reflected Waltz's desire to reconcile his acceptance of classical realism's tenets with his political commitment to liberalism. To do so, Waltz incorporated cybernetics and systems theory into Theory of International Politics, which allowed him to develop a theory of international relations no longer burdened with the problem of decisionmaking.

Alexander Wendt's Auto-Critique and Social Constructivism

Alexander Wendt´s Auto-Critique of his Social Theory of International Politics has significant implications on social constructivism. By using quantum physics as the basis for this theory rather than classical physics, he creates a framework for the reformulation of social constructivism and social sciences in general.This paper will first discuss the mind body problem and look some of the solutions that have been proposed for it in IR. Secondly, we will then explore the Quantum Consciousness Hypothesis and analyze its position within the various interpretations of quantum mechanics. Then we will look at the history ‘quantum politics’ and compare the positions of the various scholars who have researched this subject. Finally, we intend to show that a quantum approach can provide significant added value both to Wendt’s Social Theory of International Politics and to IR as a whole.

Humanitaria n Intervention Yesterday and Today: A History

Abstract Humanitarian intervention is not limited to the post-Cold War years but has a longer history. This article tries to present a history of this controversial concept from its original roots until today. The aim is to address the question of the progenitor or progenitors of the idea in the Renaissance, which is a matter of controversy and to highlight the heyday of the concept in the nineteenth century, where the concept was formally developed and debated within international law. We shall emphasise the arguments for or against humanitarian intervention, indicating, among others, their similarities with today’s debate. Brief reference is also made to international political theory and intervention, mainly to the views of Kant and John Stuart Mill. The last part of the article deals with the Cold War and the post-Cold War era, and concludes by referring to the main issues discussed in the present heated discussion on humanitarian intervention. Keywords: international law, humanity, non-intervention, sovereignty, tyranny, massacres ----- Bibliography: Heraclides, Alexis: Humanitarian Intervention Yesterday and Today: A History, ERIS, 1-2015, pp. 15-37. https://doi.org/10.3224/eris.v2i1.19352

The legitimacy of the global order

This paper presents a framework within which to understand the legitimacy of the global order called ‘cosmopolitan sovereign equality’. It is Kant inspired and consists of three formal and three political duties. The formal duties are those of structural coherence, innate right and publicity, and the political duties those of legitimate enforcement within states, non-intervention between states, and free communication between entities within different states. These duties are constructed from a reading of Kant’s Doctrine of Right and are defended in current International political theory debates on human rights, the role of the state and international law. The framework enables conceptualization of legitimate international relations between a world state and a system of autarkic states, and places a premium on states as legitimators of force, while working from the premises of moral cosmopolitanism.

Revisiting the Debate on Constructing a Theory of International Relations with Chinese Characteristics

AbstractAfter decades of policy learning and adoption of “Western” theories of international politics, the Chinese academic community has (re-)turned to the construction of a “Chinese” theory framework. This article examines the recent academic debates on theory with “Chinese characteristics” and sheds light on their historical and philosophical foundations. It argues that the search for a “Chinese” paradigm of international relations theory is part of China's quest for national identity and global status. As can be concluded from the analysis of these debates, “Chinese” theories of international politics are expected to fulfil two general functions – to safeguard China's national interests and to legitimize the one-party system.

From Nothing, Everything

Void Universalism is, arguably, Sergei Prozorov’s magnum opus. Consisting of two volumes, Ontology and World Politics (OWP) and Theory of the Political Subject (TPS), Void Universalism links the individual to the international, the particular to the universal, and nothing to everything. With this publication, Sergei Prozorov establishes himself as the most innovative contemporary scholar in international political theory, placing himself on equal terms with Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Giorgio Agamben, with whom his work is in deep conversation. He writes with a precision that exemplifies a command of sophisticated concepts that is unparalleled.

We need to talk about silence: Re-examining silence in International Relations theory

The critique of silence in International Relations theory has been long-standing and sustained. However, despite the lasting popularity of the term, little effort has been made to unpack the implications of existing definitions and their uses, and of attempts to rid the worlds of theory and practice of silences. This article seeks to fill this vacuum by conducting a twofold exercise: a review and revision of the conceptualisation of silence current in the literature; and a review of the implications of attempts to eliminate silence from the worlds of theory and practice. Through the discussion, the article suggests that we deepen and broaden our understanding of silence while simultaneously accepting that a degree of silence will be a permanent feature of theory and practice in international politics. Finally, the conclusion illustrates the possibilities for analysis and theory opened by these arguments through an exploration of how they may be used to interpret and address recent events in Yemen.

‘Just food’. The normative obligations of private agrifood governance

Global agrifood governance faces enormous environmental and social challenges that demand the development of effective, just, and legitimate solutions. In this context, private governance institutions, in the form of private standards and certification schemes, have developed into a major institutional response in the pursuance of sustainable agrifood development. While International Relations and political theory have examined private governance institutions in agrifood from the perspective of democratic legitimacy and problem-solving effectiveness, surprisingly little attention has been paid on their relationship to questions of equity and justice, however. As a result we lack systematic understanding of the justice concerns raised by private governance; we cannot effectively address injustice in agrifood governance; and we lack guidance on principles that can attribute ethical responsibilities to private institutions. This paper makes an attempt to outline the basis for a normative framework on agrifood governance, in general, and private agrifood governance, more specifically by delineating: (a) the reasons why private governance institutions fall under the scope of justice; (b) the principles, subjects and dimensions of just private agrifood governance; and (c) institutional transformations to foster agrifood justice.

Advancing Justice and Democracy ‘beyond’ the State: Feasibility through Flexibility

The literature on international political theory is replete with proposals to make world politics a more just and democratic place. This article explores how the cosmopolitan design project can be made more tractable in a world composed of sovereign nation states. Specifically, it argues that flexibility mechanisms – tools common in international cooperation – enhance the feasibility of design. The article draws upon the recent work on political feasibility and argues that economic, institutional and cultural constraints can be overcome by using flexibility mechanisms. In order to gain traction on the argument, prescriptions made in the field of intellectual property rights are analysed. Thomas Pogge and Allen Buchanan, Tony Cole and Robert Keohane have separately advanced institutional proposals to reform the global essential medicine system. The article details how feasibility can be enhanced through flexibility in light of these proposals, and makes a suggestion about their comparative feasibility and desirability.