The book presents a possible way of reading and rewriting the Eurocentrism of International Relat... more The book presents a possible way of reading and rewriting the Eurocentrism of International Relations. The method proposed to rewrite histories of the manifestations and criticisms of Eurocentrism is through 'connected histories'. The first section of the book focuses on manifestations of Eurocentrism in and through disciplinary formations and geopolitical contexts. This section explores the 'field of IR' as a problematic unit that already assumes a coloniality of power. It questions the existence of 'fields of study' and the borders between them by examining the permeability between history and IR, and highlighting how Eurocentric assumptions about world politics are reproduced in the different 'fields'. The second section of the book focuses on criticisms of Eurocentrism in and through disciplines and geopolitical contexts. This section explores the different ways in which theoretical strategies criticizing Eurocentrism were formulated in conversation with each other across disciplines and geopolitical contexts.
The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are o... more The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are organised around what has been called ‘analytic bifurcation’. Analytic bifurcations artificially structure and divide analytic spaces into, for example, Europe/non-Europe, inside/outside, state/empire, and metropole/colony. Recently, these bifurcations have been problematised within IR and adjacent fields. Our article contributes to and extends these discussions by foregrounding two interrelated aspects that have not received sufficient attention: first, connections between colonies rather than between metropole and colony and, second, the construction and reproduction of the bifurcation of Europe/non-Europe. We explore how technologies of power, in our case mapping and the use of ‘blank spaces’, were used to create imaginaries of colonisable land. To do so, we trace two episodes from nineteenth-century German colonial discourse. The first episode analyses imaginaries of exploration in th...
The thesis aims to underline the Eurocentrism of the field of international relations and the way... more The thesis aims to underline the Eurocentrism of the field of international relations and the way in which the conceptualizations and writings of history contribute to the reproduction of specific narratives of international relations. The thesis argues that the ‘decentering’ of the field should not only focus on questioning the narratives produced in the center but also focus on the reproduction of Eurocentrism in the ‘periphery’. The thesis through the example of the ‘Cold War’ discusses the way in which the ‘Cold War’ has been written and the presuppositions about international relations that has been produced and reproduced in the center and in the periphery.
The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are o... more The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are organised around what has been called 'analytic bifurcation'. Analytic bifurcations artificially structure and divide analytic spaces into, for example, Europe/non-Europe, inside/outside, state/empire, and metropole/colony. Recently, these bifurcations have been problematised within IR and adjacent fields. Our article contributes to and extends these discussions by foregrounding two interrelated aspects that have not received sufficient attention: first, connections between colonies rather than between metropole and colony and, second, the construction and reproduction of the bifurcation of Europe/non-Europe. We explore how technologies of power, in our case mapping and the use of 'blank spaces' , were used to create imaginaries of colonisable land. To do so, we trace two episodes from nineteenth-century German colonial discourse. The first episode analyses imaginaries of exploration in the Humboldtian tradition and how these imaginaries depict spaces outside of Europe, namely in Africa, as blank spaces. The second episode reconstructs the cartographic work of Paul Langhans, who focused on mapping 'Germandom' (Deutschtum) in Central and Eastern Europe. Juxtaposing these two episodes shows the interconnectedness between these spaces (Africa and the European East) and how techniques such as blank spaces were applied to create colonisable land.
‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international po... more ‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international politics, orders, systems, societies, practices, and so forth. Albeit being usually taken for granted, its foundational function begs the questions of what the international actually is or, instead, what conceptualisations of the international imply, project, and do. Periodic discussions in International Relations (IR) about the international as the subject matter of the field routinely revolve around attempts to fix its definition, to consciously escape it, or to return to a pragmatic approach of using rather than questioning the concept of the international. In bringing the international from the background to the fore, this Special Section investigates explicit and implicit conceptualisations of the international, and their implications. It does so in a variety of ways and areas. The special section focuses on dynamics of reification and reflection, on how the ‘international’ is opposed to the ‘transnational’ or ‘the world’, how it is denied or seemingly superseded, and how it yet retains its conceptual significance.
As students of International Relations (IR) have increasingly turned to historicizing the interna... more As students of International Relations (IR) have increasingly turned to historicizing the international, historians have opened up their discipline to international, transnational and global circuits and connections.[1] Global History, in particular, has figured in debates within the discipline of history to the extent that observers note a “boom”[2], “trend”[3], and “turn”[4]. It has even been suggested that Global History is the “fastest-growing field within the discipline” of history[5]. As a consequence, global historical literature has proliferated. There are now a vast number of introductions to the field, compendia, bridging exercises to other research areas (running through labels such as “global intellectual history”[6] or “global historical sociology”[7]) and more empirical “global histories of X” (with “X” being nearly any imaginable topic). Study programmes are mushrooming and thematic journals such asThe Journal of World Study and the Journal of Global History [8] have ...
‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international po... more ‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international politics, orders, systems, societies, practices, and so forth. Albeit being usually taken for granted, its foundational function begs the questions of what the international actually is or, instead, what conceptualisations of the international imply, project, and do. Periodic discussions in International Relations (IR) about the international as the subject matter of the field routinely revolve around attempts to fix its definition, to consciously escape it, or to return to a pragmatic approach of using rather than questioning the concept of the international. In bringing the international from the background to the fore, this Special Section investigates explicit and implicit conceptualisations of the international, and their implications. It does so in a variety of ways and areas. The special section focuses on dynamics of reification and reflection, on how the ‘international’ is opposed to the ‘transnational’ or ‘the world’, how it is denied or seemingly superseded, and how it yet retains its conceptual significance.
The SAGE Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations
This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentr... more This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentrism and the geopolitical hierarchies within knowledge production. For the full text see The Sage Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations (2018), edited by Andreas Gofas, Inanna Hamati-Ataya and Nicholas Onuf.
How to write non-Eurocentric histories has long been a concern in the humanities and the social s... more How to write non-Eurocentric histories has long been a concern in the humanities and the social sciences. Attempts at writing non-Eurocentric histories of the international have been trapped in an absence/presence dichotomy and made making present what was absented from the story of the international their main focal point. The article aims to contribute to these discussions through pointing to the limitations of existing approaches that focus on revealing entanglements and offering an alternative framework for writing “connected histories of the international.” The article will proceed in four sections. The first section will provide a definition of Eurocentrism and elaborate on the way in which writing “connected histories” was offered as a solution. The second section will discuss how Eurocentric narratives have been critiqued within history and International Relations through “entangled narratives.” The third section will introduce the notion of “abyssal lines” and underline how...
The article discusses the manner in which the story of the international system and the relations... more The article discusses the manner in which the story of the international system and the relationship between violence and civilisation that Andrew Linklater tells inViolence and Civilization in the Western States-Systemsremains on the visible side of the absyssal line. Absyssal thinking refers to the distinctions created between visible and invisible realms and it is Eurocentrism as a system of knowledge that sustains and reproduces this abyssal line. The article will focus on two instances of reproducing this abyssal line. The first will be with respect to the way in which histories of Europe and colonialism are detached from each other. The second will be on where political and moral ‘progress’ is being located within the development of the ‘global civilizing process’.
Abstract How do we ‘decolonise’ the field of International Relations? The aim to decolonise has b... more Abstract How do we ‘decolonise’ the field of International Relations? The aim to decolonise has become a widely discussed and mentioned subject across the social sciences and humanities. The article aims to discuss what 'decolonisation' might mean in the context of the field of International Relations.
The book presents a possible way of reading and rewriting the Eurocentrism of International Relat... more The book presents a possible way of reading and rewriting the Eurocentrism of International Relations. The method proposed to rewrite histories of the manifestations and criticisms of Eurocentrism is through 'connected histories'. The first section of the book focuses on manifestations of Eurocentrism in and through disciplinary formations and geopolitical contexts. This section explores the 'field of IR' as a problematic unit that already assumes a coloniality of power. It questions the existence of 'fields of study' and the borders between them by examining the permeability between history and IR, and highlighting how Eurocentric assumptions about world politics are reproduced in the different 'fields'. The second section of the book focuses on criticisms of Eurocentrism in and through disciplines and geopolitical contexts. This section explores the different ways in which theoretical strategies criticizing Eurocentrism were formulated in conversation with each other across disciplines and geopolitical contexts.
The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are o... more The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are organised around what has been called ‘analytic bifurcation’. Analytic bifurcations artificially structure and divide analytic spaces into, for example, Europe/non-Europe, inside/outside, state/empire, and metropole/colony. Recently, these bifurcations have been problematised within IR and adjacent fields. Our article contributes to and extends these discussions by foregrounding two interrelated aspects that have not received sufficient attention: first, connections between colonies rather than between metropole and colony and, second, the construction and reproduction of the bifurcation of Europe/non-Europe. We explore how technologies of power, in our case mapping and the use of ‘blank spaces’, were used to create imaginaries of colonisable land. To do so, we trace two episodes from nineteenth-century German colonial discourse. The first episode analyses imaginaries of exploration in th...
The thesis aims to underline the Eurocentrism of the field of international relations and the way... more The thesis aims to underline the Eurocentrism of the field of international relations and the way in which the conceptualizations and writings of history contribute to the reproduction of specific narratives of international relations. The thesis argues that the ‘decentering’ of the field should not only focus on questioning the narratives produced in the center but also focus on the reproduction of Eurocentrism in the ‘periphery’. The thesis through the example of the ‘Cold War’ discusses the way in which the ‘Cold War’ has been written and the presuppositions about international relations that has been produced and reproduced in the center and in the periphery.
The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are o... more The social sciences and humanities in general and International Relations (IR) specifically are organised around what has been called 'analytic bifurcation'. Analytic bifurcations artificially structure and divide analytic spaces into, for example, Europe/non-Europe, inside/outside, state/empire, and metropole/colony. Recently, these bifurcations have been problematised within IR and adjacent fields. Our article contributes to and extends these discussions by foregrounding two interrelated aspects that have not received sufficient attention: first, connections between colonies rather than between metropole and colony and, second, the construction and reproduction of the bifurcation of Europe/non-Europe. We explore how technologies of power, in our case mapping and the use of 'blank spaces' , were used to create imaginaries of colonisable land. To do so, we trace two episodes from nineteenth-century German colonial discourse. The first episode analyses imaginaries of exploration in the Humboldtian tradition and how these imaginaries depict spaces outside of Europe, namely in Africa, as blank spaces. The second episode reconstructs the cartographic work of Paul Langhans, who focused on mapping 'Germandom' (Deutschtum) in Central and Eastern Europe. Juxtaposing these two episodes shows the interconnectedness between these spaces (Africa and the European East) and how techniques such as blank spaces were applied to create colonisable land.
‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international po... more ‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international politics, orders, systems, societies, practices, and so forth. Albeit being usually taken for granted, its foundational function begs the questions of what the international actually is or, instead, what conceptualisations of the international imply, project, and do. Periodic discussions in International Relations (IR) about the international as the subject matter of the field routinely revolve around attempts to fix its definition, to consciously escape it, or to return to a pragmatic approach of using rather than questioning the concept of the international. In bringing the international from the background to the fore, this Special Section investigates explicit and implicit conceptualisations of the international, and their implications. It does so in a variety of ways and areas. The special section focuses on dynamics of reification and reflection, on how the ‘international’ is opposed to the ‘transnational’ or ‘the world’, how it is denied or seemingly superseded, and how it yet retains its conceptual significance.
As students of International Relations (IR) have increasingly turned to historicizing the interna... more As students of International Relations (IR) have increasingly turned to historicizing the international, historians have opened up their discipline to international, transnational and global circuits and connections.[1] Global History, in particular, has figured in debates within the discipline of history to the extent that observers note a “boom”[2], “trend”[3], and “turn”[4]. It has even been suggested that Global History is the “fastest-growing field within the discipline” of history[5]. As a consequence, global historical literature has proliferated. There are now a vast number of introductions to the field, compendia, bridging exercises to other research areas (running through labels such as “global intellectual history”[6] or “global historical sociology”[7]) and more empirical “global histories of X” (with “X” being nearly any imaginable topic). Study programmes are mushrooming and thematic journals such asThe Journal of World Study and the Journal of Global History [8] have ...
‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international po... more ‘The international’ is the background condition that holds together inquiries of international politics, orders, systems, societies, practices, and so forth. Albeit being usually taken for granted, its foundational function begs the questions of what the international actually is or, instead, what conceptualisations of the international imply, project, and do. Periodic discussions in International Relations (IR) about the international as the subject matter of the field routinely revolve around attempts to fix its definition, to consciously escape it, or to return to a pragmatic approach of using rather than questioning the concept of the international. In bringing the international from the background to the fore, this Special Section investigates explicit and implicit conceptualisations of the international, and their implications. It does so in a variety of ways and areas. The special section focuses on dynamics of reification and reflection, on how the ‘international’ is opposed to the ‘transnational’ or ‘the world’, how it is denied or seemingly superseded, and how it yet retains its conceptual significance.
The SAGE Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations
This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentr... more This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentrism and the geopolitical hierarchies within knowledge production. For the full text see The Sage Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations (2018), edited by Andreas Gofas, Inanna Hamati-Ataya and Nicholas Onuf.
How to write non-Eurocentric histories has long been a concern in the humanities and the social s... more How to write non-Eurocentric histories has long been a concern in the humanities and the social sciences. Attempts at writing non-Eurocentric histories of the international have been trapped in an absence/presence dichotomy and made making present what was absented from the story of the international their main focal point. The article aims to contribute to these discussions through pointing to the limitations of existing approaches that focus on revealing entanglements and offering an alternative framework for writing “connected histories of the international.” The article will proceed in four sections. The first section will provide a definition of Eurocentrism and elaborate on the way in which writing “connected histories” was offered as a solution. The second section will discuss how Eurocentric narratives have been critiqued within history and International Relations through “entangled narratives.” The third section will introduce the notion of “abyssal lines” and underline how...
The article discusses the manner in which the story of the international system and the relations... more The article discusses the manner in which the story of the international system and the relationship between violence and civilisation that Andrew Linklater tells inViolence and Civilization in the Western States-Systemsremains on the visible side of the absyssal line. Absyssal thinking refers to the distinctions created between visible and invisible realms and it is Eurocentrism as a system of knowledge that sustains and reproduces this abyssal line. The article will focus on two instances of reproducing this abyssal line. The first will be with respect to the way in which histories of Europe and colonialism are detached from each other. The second will be on where political and moral ‘progress’ is being located within the development of the ‘global civilizing process’.
Abstract How do we ‘decolonise’ the field of International Relations? The aim to decolonise has b... more Abstract How do we ‘decolonise’ the field of International Relations? The aim to decolonise has become a widely discussed and mentioned subject across the social sciences and humanities. The article aims to discuss what 'decolonisation' might mean in the context of the field of International Relations.
This article focuses on the way in which Eurocentric conceptualisations of the ‘international’ ar... more This article focuses on the way in which Eurocentric conceptualisations of the ‘international’ are reproduced in different geopolitical contexts. Even though the Eurocentrism of International Relations has received growing attention, it has predominantly been concerned with unearthing the Eurocentrism of the ‘centre’, overlooking its varied manifestations in other geopolitical contexts. The article seeks to contribute to discussions about Eurocentrism by examining how different conceptualisations of the international are at work at a particular moment, and how these conceptualisations continue to reproduce Eurocentrism. It will focus on the way in which Eurocentric designations of spatial and temporal hierarchies were reproduced in the context of Turkey through a reading of how the ‘Gezi Park protests’ of 2013 and ‘Turkey’ itself were written into the story of the international.
Abstract This article aims to understand the ‘non-Western self’ and the different ways its ontolo... more Abstract This article aims to understand the ‘non-Western self’ and the different ways its ontological insecurity can manifest, through the example of Turkey, by contrasting Kemalism’s modernizing vision with Erdoğan’s current populism. We argue that the constructions of political narratives in Turkey (and by implication in other similar settings) derive from two interrelated aspects of the spatio-temporal hierarchies of (colonial) modernity: structural insecurity and temporal insecurity. Modern Turkey’s ontological insecurity was constructed spatially, on the one hand, as liminality and structural in-betweenness, and temporally, on the other, as lagging behind the modernization of the West. After discussing how Kemalism offered to deal with such insecurities in the twentieth century, we analyse the Justice and Development Party (AKP) period of the twenty-first century as an alternative attempted answer to these problems and explain why efforts to dismantle the Kemalist framework collapsed into its populist mirror image. The example of the Turkish case underlines the importance of focusing on the different ways in which the structural and temporal insecurities of ‘the non-Western self’ take shape at a given point and manner of entry into the modern international order.
The Sage Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations, 2018
This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentr... more This is a co-authored handbook chapter (with Gulsah Capan) on IR theory, the problem of Eurocentrism and the geopolitical hierarchies within knowledge production. For the full text see The Sage Handbook of the History, Philosophy and Sociology of International Relations (2018), edited by Andreas Gofas, Inanna Hamati-Ataya and Nicholas Onuf.
This is a draft version of an already published chapter (pp. 193-210) from Against International ... more This is a draft version of an already published chapter (pp. 193-210) from Against International Relations Norms, Charlotte Epstein, ed. (Routledge, 2017). The main argument is that the Turkish government has used postcolonial arguments to justify its exclusionary policies that run in the opposite direction and as a way to shield itself against Western criticism. Though the Turkish political landscape has changed considerably since the time of writing (the chapter was finished before the 2016 coup attempt), we believe that the main observation still holds and is applicable to many other contexts such as Russia, India and so on. Postcolonialism is not immune to being hijacked by reactionary political ends.
I do not have permission to upload the printed chapter, but hopefully reading this draft will give those who are interested in the argument an incentive to check out and/or buy the book.
The HIST section aims at engaging with works ranging from more theoretical reflections on history... more The HIST section aims at engaging with works ranging from more theoretical reflections on history and international relations to more specific empirical discussions. A main aim of this section is to focus on specific historical trajectories and transitions and to question the idea that often dominates in IR that the making of the international rests on historical, clear-cut ruptures. The HIST section invites scholars interested in all types of historical inquiry: from micro-histories of the international to particular historical event or phenomenon, or in historiographic explorations of international relations and/or the academic field of IR.
Submissions of papers, panels and roundtables are invited for the section Historical Internationa... more Submissions of papers, panels and roundtables are invited for the section Historical International Relations (HIST) at the next EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations to be held in Prague on September 12-15, 2018. Historical international relations have gained traction over the past decades, as reflected in a growing presence of papers and panels at major conferences in the field of International Relations (IR). Strong in its experience in fostering such engagements beyond sub-disciplinary boundaries, the HIST section aims at engaging with works ranging from theoretical discussions on history and international relations to more specific empirical inquiries. The HIST section offers a timely platform for reflections on historical knowledge in IR, now that a longitudinal perspective on our present has become an ever more pressing matter to understand and explain current international affairs. A main aim of this section is to focus on specific historical trajectories and transitions and to question the assumption that the making of the 'international' hinges on historical, clear-cut ruptures; an assumption that often dominates IR approaches to history. The HIST section invites scholars interested in micro-histories of the international, a particular historical event or phenomenon, or in historiographic explorations of international relations and/or of IR as an academic field. The section approaches historical international relations from a global perspective in focusing on the different ways in which histories can be interwoven, connected and otherwise related. The contributions to this section will address-but are not limited to-the following questions: in what ways can we reconstruct the now often neglected connections and mutual influences between different events, sites, actors and concepts which in aggregate constitute parts of a global history of international relations? How can general understandings of different periodizations of the international, such as the 'Long Nineteenth Century' or 'Early Modern', be challenged and reconstructed? How can a global perspective on the history of the international contribute to understanding empire and colonialism in their variety and complexity? GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES
Histories of the 'international' and the development of concepts such as security, capital, sover... more Histories of the 'international' and the development of concepts such as security, capital, sovereignty and civilization have been predominantly concerned with three interlinked stories: the story of the rise of the West, the story of the development of capitalism and the story of the development of modernity. Recently critical perspectives have questioned these macro-narratives and their constitutive chronologies, teleologies and spatial imaginaries, interrupting the linear, progressive and parochial stories upon which the idea(s) of the 'international' is built. This workshop continues and furthers these discussions by reconstructing avowedly global histories of the 'international'. The workshop welcomes papers addressing how to (re)write global histories of the 'international' and, in particular, how to approach the relationship between history, theory and concepts, as well as the relational, multi-perspectival and intertwined quality of global histories. The workshop aims to engage with but are not limited to the following questions related to how to write global histories of the 'international': What political, legal and economic relations and experiences should be uncovered to write a global history of the international system? Where should the spatial sources and points of departure of these relations be located and how should the experiences and sets of ideas they express be understood? In what ways can we reconstruct the-now often neglected-connections and mutual influences between different events, sites, actors and concepts which in aggregate constitute parts of a global history of the 'international'? These questions point to how we can move beyond pre-existing boundaries of knowledges and geopolitical contexts in ascribing meaning to particular concepts and events that are constitutive for general understandings of the history of international relations, and how we can adjudicate between competing claims to history.
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I do not have permission to upload the printed chapter, but hopefully reading this draft will give those who are interested in the argument an incentive to check out and/or buy the book.