Lecture 8 Flashcards
(20 cards)
How does Vitalis (2015) and Shiliam (2021) views the foundation of IR?
The foundation of IR as a subdiscipline intertwined with the exercise of white colonial rule
How was race demarcated (afgebakend), where the imtenational was located in the early 20th Centurary?
o In practice and theory
o US: Focused on responsibility of great powers to provide stability mostly regarding to race wars.
How does coonial logics underpin much of IR’s early scholarship?
o Focus: good governance of the colonies
o In the interest of the core
o Terms used: civilization
Invoked in: a civilizations that is less developed -> infantilization
- Civilized core tutors
What is the main purpose of IR according to Oppenheim (1920)
The international realm is made up of civilised states in a ‘Family of Nations’ and non-civilised peoples with diminished rights, responsibilities and capabilities.
o Dependence for less civilized nation
Can be utilized for humanitarian intervention & colonialism
o Post-colonial perspective: philosophers (Hobbes, Locke etc.) were brought in
How does Du Bois (1920) think of IR?
He is a notable exeption compared to the rest:
o An African American scholar
o Writes about IR in a way that involved race, but not in terms less and more
o Invention of a white community -> Capitalism -> community creates a desire to consume-> satisfy consume: colonialism
What is the core principle of postcolonial thought?
- A way of thinking about the world and our understanding
of it, rather than a single theory. - That Neocolonialism as inheritor of colonialism’s total violence
- Critiquing Orientalism and Eurocentrism
- Modernity / Coloniality as an overarching historical /
philosophical structure - Decolonisation through ‘border thinking’ and overturning
the legacies of colonialism in the scholarship and practice
of international relations
How is postcolonialism bounded?
Its is bounded by:
o Focus on the legacy of colonialism: neo-colonialism
o Emphasise the importance of subaltern
o Rejecting that knowlege is neutral, concepts come grom
hierarchy
How is decolonism used?
o Using the indigenous knowledge
o Pushing back colonizers theories
* A way of thinking about the world and our understanding
of it, rather than a single theory
What is modernity as a philosohical structure?
- Coloniality as an overarching historical & philosophical structure
- Push back against modernity: Decolonisation through ‘border thinking’ and overturning the legacies of colonialism in the scholarship and practice of international relations
What is boarding thinking?
Thinking form the perspective of indigenous groups
What is the problem of focusing on anarchy and sovereignty? (Grovogui, 2002)
Focus on anarchy and sovereignty obscures the hierarchical and imperial nature of the system
o Issues with anarchy
This Leads to self-help and competition
Sovereignty isn’t evenly distribute, lead to more
imperialism
What is the role of liberalism in IR theory? (critiques)
o Liberalism is based on notions of equality, states aren’t equal
o Overlooks the role of race in economic exploitation between capital and workers
o Theories that address international cooperation ignore civilisationalist legacies
What is the role of constructivism in IR theory?
Constructivism overlooks the role of power
What is Norm localization?
o Meaning: a state would take a norm and transform it to a norm that benefits them
o VB: R2P
o Does not always address the colonial character of the construction of norms and ideas
What is the role of feminism to IR theory?
o Highlights the intersection between gender, patriarchy, one one hand, and race and coloniality, on the other.
o Feminist doesn’t intersect gender with race (old critique)
Why do Barkawi and Laffey (2006) argue that the conventional thiking in IR provides a bad understanding of the historical and contemporary security enviroment?
- History assumes eurocentrism
- IR analysis suffers from a lack of categories of non-great power states
- Crises examples:
Standard accounts of Cuban Missile Crisis portray a superpower affair with little to no Cuban agency - More than US vs USSR
- Ignores interest of Cubans
- Ignores Castro
- Ignores US driving Cuba to this
escalation
WW2 portrayed as the ‘good war’ between democracy and totalitarianism, rather than two imperial blocs
* West vs Nazi’s Ignores crucial role of
Russia
* Fight between imperials
The Holocaust sets the standard for unacceptable behaviour in Western-led international society, but only if you ignore prior Western imperial genocides
* Ignores the fact that it happened in the west
What is Westphalian commonsense?
That modern sovereignty has led to order of relatively autonomous and equal states
Why does Westphalian commonsense do not apply to Africa?
Adopting Westphalian commonsense translates into perception of ‘normative lack’ in postcolonial Africa:
Issues in African countries / the failed state/ quasi state comes from the country-> all responsibility is from inside the state
-> This takes away responsibility of the international community
What is Regimes of sovereignty?
Varied regimes of sovereignty practiced by hegemonic powers, though they combine to perpetuate the dominance of European entities over African ones
o Different standards, different norms
determine the place and role of each geopolitical region along with the range of sovereignty practices available to it.
ex: Congo, Belgium, Switzerland
How invisions Shilliam the deconstruction of the intenational society?
- Commonwealth, originally conceived as a two-tiered family of nations, developed from imperial conferences
o Started in conferences early 20th century: Jan Smuts
o White colonies would govern them self, but the non-white’s notWould not work
o Mark Wight (English school)reform: feared self determination
Would create African Hitler
‘’They will hate us’’ anarchy: ending of colonial rule chaos
Meaning Britain had to retain power “to see that nascent democracies are not turned into totalitarian systems”
Commonwealth: Shilliam argues Wight shifted from Commonwealth to international society (and moral convention) as his mechanism of choice to mitigate the worst effects of anarchy
Wight stops writing about Commonwealth
Shilliam argues Wight shifted from Commonwealth to international society (and moral convention) as his mechanism of choice to mitigate the worst effects of anarchy - Leaders would guide foreign countries through shared (European) values/morals
o Ensure British interest
