About Emotions in Politics and International Relations (EPIR)
The role of emotions is increasingly being recognised and addressed in both the academic study of politics and contemporary discussions of global crises and policies. Our focus reflects such increased levels of interest in and recognition of the importance of emotions as a central component of international studies. The aim of the working group is threefold: a) to provide a constructive and supportive space for the critical exploration of this field; b) to actively develop and expand this relatively young field; c) to strengthen the UK and international network of scholars working on emotions and, where relevant, to initiate dialogues with policy makers and practitioners. We support a pluralistic mandate, encompassing the role of emotions across a range of theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, and empirical issues and actors. Six central lines of enquiry shape the working group’s agenda:
- Methodologies of affect and emotions
- Theorising affect and emotions
- Pedagogies and emotions
- Interdisciplinary emotions research
- Historical and contemporary political issues (for example: migration, refugees, peacekeeping, political violence, electoral politics, terrorism, nuclear weapons, diplomacy, trauma, memory, climate change, war and conflict)
- Connections between gender in IR/Feminism, postcolonialism and emotions research.