Introduction to the special issue: The multiple births of International Relations
In their new article for BISA journal Review of International Studies (RIS) Vineet Thakur and Karen Smith introduce the upcoming special issue: The multiple births of International Relations.
Here they provide a fantastic introductory video discussing how the special issue came about, the similarities and differences between the contributions, and the importance of these stories in informing contemporary debates.
The special issue builds on the existing scholarship on rethinking IR's disciplinary history by expanding its geographical focus beyond the West, and explores how IR came to define itself as a self-contained body of knowledge that is distinct from other fields of study in different parts of the world. These alternative histories enable us to appreciate that the development of IR as a global discipline was only possible through a transnational circulation of key ideas such as sovereignty, empire, Commonwealth and, especially, competing notions of the ‘international’. In addition, they bring attention to the purpose of knowledge and the politics of its production, and allow for both democratisation as well as discursive plurality.
Please do go on to read Karen and Vineet's introductory article in full at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210521000498
The special issue will include five excellent articles:
- Davis, Alexander - Making a Settler Colonial IR: Imagining the 'International' in early Australian International Relations
- Hwang, Yih-Jye - The Births of International Studies in China
- Milani, Carlos - The Foundation and development of International Relations in Brazil
- Seo, Jungmin and Young, Chul Cho - The Emergence and Evolution of IR Studies in Post-colonial South Korea
- Tieku, Thomas - The Legon School of International Relations
You can already find a short summary video from Thomas Tieku and an accessible summary article from Yih-Jye Hwang on our website. A summary of The Emergence and Evolution of IR Studies in Post-colonial South Korea is coming soon.
BISA members receive access to RIS (and our other journal European Journal of International Security) as a benefit of membership. To gain access log in to your BISA account and scroll down to the 'Membership benefits' section. If you're not yet a member join today.
Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash
