Separatists, state subjectivity, and fundamental ontological (in)security in international relations

2021 ◽  
pp. 004711782110456
Author(s):  
Janis Grzybowski
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Starting Point

Ontological security studies (OSS) in International Relations (IR) emphasize the role of identity, anxiety, and a sense of self in world politics. Yet suggesting that states act in certain ways because of ‘who they are’ also assumes that they are in fact states. In this article, I problematize the presupposition of state subjects in the context of separatist conflicts in which claims to statehood compete and overlap. Where unrecognized de facto states are pitted against their unyielding parent states, the two threaten each other’s very state personhood, thereby presenting a more radical challenge to their existence than traditional ‘physical’ and ‘ontological’ security threats. Separatist conflicts thus reveal a widely overlooked dimension of fundamental ontological security, provided by the constitution and recognition of states as such. Moreover, because of the exclusiveness of state subjects in the modern international order, any third parties attempting to resolve such conflicts inevitably face a meta-security dilemma whereby reassuring one side by confirming its claim to statehood simultaneously renders the other side radically insecure. Thus, rather than regarding particular state subjects as merely the starting point of quests for ontological security in international relations, they should also be understood as already their result.

scholarly journals Accounting for Change in IR

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Esther Ng K.H.
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
The West

Most theories of International Relations (IR) are cautious, if not pessimistic, about the potential for change in IR. In this regard, the concept of ontological security holds promising yet oft-overlooked prospects. This article argues that applications of ontological security to IR theory thus far have been limited due to the narrow conceptualisations of practices and how they contribute to one’s attempts to preserve their ontological security. As such, this paper seeks to expand the theoretical framework through which ontological security is applied to IR, which involves a more comprehensive conceptualisation of practice that considers reflexivity as key. Accordingly, the theory demonstrates that a state, faced with threats to their sense of Self, can respond either by rigidising or changing their practices rather than being limited to the former. This allows one to account for change—especially big change—in world politics such as the increasingly inward-looking turn of the West.

Anxiety, fear, and ontological security in world politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-239
Author(s):  
Catarina Kinnvall ◽  
Jennifer Mitzen
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Existential Anxiety ◽  
Anthony Giddens ◽  
Existentialist Philosophy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

AbstractThis symposium addresses the role of anxiety, fear, and ontological (in)security in world politics. Proceeding from the recognition of the scholarly interest and multitude of approaches that characterize the field of ontological (in)security studies, the Symposium homes in on the relationship between anxiety and fear, and between anxiety, subjectivity, and agency. The Introduction critically engages with Anthony Giddens' understandings of ontological (in)security, in an effort to spur the revisiting, questioning, and, in some cases, leaving behind Giddens' assumptions in order to develop a more dynamic conception. In response, the first three contributions draw on resources in existentialist philosophy, especially Heidegger, Tillich, and Kierkegaard, to further unpack the relationship between anxiety and ontological (in)security. They do so by returning to the experiential moment of confronting existential anxiety, a moment that Giddens quickly closes down, to better grasp how existential anxiety resolves into an orientation to action. The final two essays, in comparison, bring anxiety ‘back in’ to locales where Giddens' theory occludes it: the unconscious and the international, thus arguing that emotional configurations other than fear are always possible.

scholarly journals Fit for purpose? Fitting ontological security studies ‘into’ the discipline of International Relations: Towards a vernacular turn

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Croft ◽  
Nick Vaughan-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mutual Interest ◽  
Fit For Purpose

The performance of International Relations (IR) scholarship – as in all scholarship – acts to close and police the boundaries of the discipline in ways that reflect power–knowledge relations. This has led to the development of two strands of work in ontological security studies in IR, which divide on questions of ontological choice and the nature of the deployment of the concept of dread. Neither strand is intellectually superior to the other and both are internally heterogeneous. That there are two strands, however, is the product of the performance of IR scholarship, and the two strands themselves perform distinct roles. One allows ontological security studies to engage with the ‘mainstream’ in IR; the other allows ‘international’ elements of ontological security to engage with the social sciences more generally. Ironically, both can be read as symptoms of the discipline’s issues with its own ontological (in)security. We reflect on these intellectual dynamics and their implications and prompt a new departure by connecting ontological security studies in IR with the emerging interdisciplinary fields of the ‘vernacular’ and ‘everyday’ via the mutual interest in biographical narratives of the self and the work that they do politically.

scholarly journals 32. Humanitarian intervention in world politics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex J. Bellamy ◽  
Nicholas J. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Humanitarian Intervention ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Protection Goals

This chapter examines the role of humanitarian intervention in world politics. It considers how we should resolve tensions when valued principles such as order, sovereignty, and self-determination come into conflict with human rights; and how international thought and practice has evolved with respect to humanitarian intervention. The chapter discusses the case for and against humanitarian intervention and looks at humanitarian activism during the 1990s. It also analyses the responsibility to protect principle and the use of force to achieve its protection goals in Libya in 2011. Two case studies are presented, one dealing with humanitarian intervention in Darfur and the other with the role of Middle Eastern governments in Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the West should intervene in Syria to protect people there from the Islamic State (ISIS).

scholarly journals PROROSYJSKIE PORTALE INTERNETOWE W POLSCE I INNYCH KRAJACH EUROPY ŚRODKOWEJ JAKO ISTOTNY ELEMENT KSZTAŁTOWANIA PROWADZONEJ PRZEZ ROSJĘ WOJNY INFORMACYJNEJ

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Jastrzębska
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Central European ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
Internet Portals ◽  
Russian Politics ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
Vladimir Putin

Abstrakt: Polityka Rosji i jej obecnego prezydenta – Władimira Putina – wzbudza na świecie wiele kontrowersji, jednak z drugiej strony grupy wspierające działania państwa rosyjskiego, którego głównym celem jest odbudowa swojej silnej pozycji na arenie międzynarodowej nie są zjawiskiem rzadkim. Swoje poparcie dla działań Moskwy wyrażają poprzez środki masowego przekazu, m.in. przez internet. Niniejszy artykuł poświęcony będzie internetowym portalom, sprzyjającym polityce Moskwy, istniejącym w krajach Europy Środkowej – państw pogranicza Wschodu i Zachodu, przez długi czas będących częścią radzieckiej strefy wpływów, zaś obecnie integrujących się ze strukturami europejskimi. Praca postara się przedstawić najważniejsze treści prezentowane na tych stronach, stosunek do wzrastającego znaczenia Rosji w stosunkach międzynarodowych oraz prób odzyskania pozycji mocarstwa (m.in. odniesienie do konfliktu ukraińskiego) a także w jaki sposób te portale i ich aktywność wpływają na procesy społeczno-polityczne, istniejące w tych państwach i czy witryny te mogą być aktywnym instrumentem wykorzystywanym przez Rosję w procesie kształtowania i prowadzenia działań określanych mianem wojny informacyjnej. Abstract: The current politics of Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin is considered as very controversial, but from the other hand many groups support the actions, which are concerned on increasing the strong position of Russia at the international area. Their advocacy for its policy is showed by many means of transitions like Internet. The main focus of this article will be interested in internet portals, which promote the Russian politics which exist in Central European countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Mentioned countries exist on sui generis borderland of East and West. They were for many years parts of Soviet sphere of influence and now try to arrange their position in West European structures. Article will try to answer which type of contents can be found on this websites, their attitude to expanding role of Russia in international relations and Moscow's attempts for recupering the superpower status (like opinion about Ukrainian conflict) and in which way these portals and their activities can influence social and political processes, which are conducted in these states. At least article will mention how described websites can be used as active instrument in the process of shaping and carrying on movements which can be called as information war.

The Study of Peaceful Change in World Politics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.V. Paul
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Different Dimensions

This introductory chapter offers an overview of the core themes addressed in The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations. It begins with a discussion of the neglect of peaceful change and the overemphasis on war as the source of change in the discipline of international relations. Definitions of peaceful change in their different dimensions, in particular the maximalist and minimalist varieties, are offered. Systemic, regional, and domestic level changes are explored. This is followed by a discussion of the study and understanding of peaceful change during the interwar, Cold War, and post–Cold War eras. The chapter offers a brief summary of different theoretical perspectives in IR—realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical as well as eclectic approaches—and how they explore peaceful change, its key mechanisms, and its feasibility. The chapter considers the role of great powers and key regional states as agents of change. The economic, social, ideational, ecological, and technological sources of change are also briefly discussed.

Part VI Actors, Ch.40 Epistemic Communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haas Peter M
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Epistemic Community ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Causal Beliefs ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
History Of

This chapter begins with a definition and intellectual history of epistemic communities. ‘Epistemic communities’ is a concept developed by ‘soft’ constructivist scholars of international relations concerned with agency. Soft constructivists in general focus on the role of various types of norms, principled beliefs, causal beliefs, and discourses in establishing roles and rules in international relations: that is, determining the identities, interests, and practices that shape the identification of actors in international relations. The chapter then applies this definition to the study of international environmental law and discusses whether or not international lawyers constitute an epistemic community. It concludes with a discussion of some of the recent challenges to the influence of epistemic communities in world politics more broadly, and thus the future of international environmental law.

30. Nationalism, national self-determination, and international relations

2019 ◽  
pp. 481-497
Author(s):  
John Breuilly
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Different Types

This chapter examines the role of nationalism and national self-determination (NSD) in shaping the major institution of modern international relations: the nation-state. It considers different types of nationalism and how they vary from one another, whether the commonly accepted sequence of nation > nationalism > nation-state is actually the reverse of the normal historical sequence, and whether the principle of NSD is compatible with that of state sovereignty. The chapter also explores the contribution of nationalism to the globalization of world politics and the changing meanings of NSD since 1918. Four case studies of nationalism are presented: Kurdistan, Germany, India, and Yugoslavia. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the principle of NSD threatens stable international relations.

27. Nationalism, national self-determination, and international relations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Breuilly
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Different Types

This chapter examines the role of nationalism and national self-determination (NSD) in shaping the major institution of modern international relations: the nation-state. It considers different types of nationalism and how they vary from one another, whether the commonly accepted sequence of nation > nationalism > nation-state is actually the reverse of the normal historical sequence, and whether the principle of NSD is incompatible with that of state sovereignty. The chapter also explores the contribution of nationalism to the globalization of world politics and the changing meanings of NSD since 1918. Four case studies of nationalism are presented, in Kurdistan, Germany, India, and Yugoslavia. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the principle of NSD threatens stable international relations.

22. NGOs in world politics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jutta Joachim
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Climate Justice ◽  
International Level ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Transnational Ngos

This chapter examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in world politics. It considers what distinguishes NGOs from other actors in international politics, what types of influence NGOs exert in international relations, and whether NGOs contribute to more democratic policy-making at the international level. The chapter also discusses the growing importance of NGOs and presents two case studies that illustrate how they have contributed to the emergence of new norms through their engagement with international governmental organizations (IGOs): the first is about campaigns run by transnational NGOs to end violence against women and the second is about their climate justice activism. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether transnational NGOs contribute to more democracy at the international level.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document