The making of global international relations : origins and evolution of IR at its centenary

This book presents a challenge to the discipline of international relations (IR) to rethink itself, in the light of both its own modern origins, and the two centuries of world history that have shaped it. By tracking the development of thinking about IR, and the practice of world politics, this book shows how they relate to each other across five time periods from nineteenth-century colonialism, through two world wars, the Cold War and decolonization, to twenty-first-century globalization. It gives equal weight to both the neglected voices and histories of the Global South, and the traditionally dominant perspectives of the West, showing how they have moved from nearly complete separation to the beginnings of significant integration. The authors argue that IR needs to continue this globalizing movement if it is to cope with the rapidly emerging post-Western world order, with its more diffuse distribution of wealth, power and cultural authority. The Making of Global International Relations: Origins and Evolution of IR at its Centenary 4 Contents 6 List of Tables 7 Acknowledgements 8 List of Abbreviations 10 Introduction 14 Aims and Approaches 14 Summary of the Argument 15 1 The World up to 1919: The Making of Modern International Relations 21 Introduction 21 The Impact of Modernity on the World 21 The Ideational Landscape 21 The Material Landscape 25 Western-Colonial Global International Society 30 Japan Foreshadows ‘the Rise of the Rest’ 37 Japan As Part of the First General Round of Modernity 37 Breaking the Myth of White Power 39 Racism 40 The First World War 41 Conclusions 44 2 International Relations up to 1919: Laying the Foundations 46 Introduction 46 IR before IR in the Core 47 Liberalism and Socialism 51 Nationalism and ‘Scientific’ Racism 55 Realism 58 Geopolitics 59 War and Strategic Studies 60 Imperialism and Colonial Administration 62 International Law, Intergovernmental Organisations and International Society 64 Conclusions 66 IR before IR in the Periphery 68 Japan 68 Latin America 70 China 72 India 73 IR in Other Colonial ‘Regions’ 74 The 1919 ‘Myth’ of IR’s Founding 77 Conclusions 79 3 The World 1919–1945: Still Version 1.0 Global International Society 80 Introduction 80 Continuities and Discontinuities from the Pre-1914 World 81 The Main Themes of Interwar International Relations 86 The Second World War 90 Conclusions 93 4 International Relations 1919–1945: The First Founding of the Discipline 95 Introduction 95 The Institutionalisation of IR 96 The Core 96 The Periphery 99 IR Thinking in the Core 101 Conclusions 108 IR Thinking in the Periphery 109 Japan 110 China 111 India 113 Latin America 116 The Middle East 119 Africa and the Caribbean 120 Conclusions 121 Conclusions 123 5 The World after 1945: The Era of the Cold War and Decolonisation 125 Introduction 125 Continuities and Discontinuities from the Pre-1945 World 125 Version 1.1 Global International Society: The Main Themes of International Relations 1945–1989 128 The Core 128 The Periphery 137 Restructuring the Core–Periphery Relationship 144 China As an Enigmatic Outsider 147 The Ending of the Cold War and Decolonisation 149 Conclusions 150 6 International Relations 1945–1989: The Second Founding of the Discipline 151 Introduction 151 The Institutionalisation of IR 155 The Core 155 The Periphery 160 IR Thinking in the Core 161 Diversity and Differentiation within Core IR 162 American Power, American Social Science? 163 Realism 165 Strategic Studies and Peace Research 167 Liberalism 169 International Political Economy 173 Marxism 174 The English School 176 IR Debates Itself Again 177 IR Thinking in the Periphery 178 Postcolonialism 181 Dependency Theory 183 IR in the Regions 186 Asia 187 Latin America 188 Africa 188 The Middle East 190 Conclusions 190 7 The World after 1989: ‘Unipolarity’, Globalisation and the Rise of the Rest 192 Introduction 192 Continuities and Discontinuities from the Pre-1989 World 192 The Peaking of Version 1.1 Global International Society and the Transition to Version 1.2: The Main Themes of International Relations 1989–2017 197 The Core 197 Russia 198 China 200 Europe and Japan 205 India 207 The Periphery 210 Core–Periphery Relations as Shared Fates 214 Resurgence of Nuclear Proliferation 214 Terrorism 216 Migration 218 Interventions 220 Global Economic Management 223 Environmental Stewardship 225 Cybersecurity 228 Conclusion: From Version 1.1 towards Version 1.2 Global International Society 229 8 International Relations after 1989 231 Introduction 231 Institutionalisation 232 IR Thinking in the Core 235 Realism 236 International Security Studies 238 Liberalism, Neoliberalism and International Political Economy 241 Constructivism 245 The English School 247 Critical Theories 249 Feminism 252 Great Debates Part 3 254 IR Thinking in the Periphery 256 Postcolonialism 256 Asia 259 Latin America 262 Africa 263 Middle East 266 Russia and East and Central Europe 268 Conclusions 269 9 The Post-Western World Order: Deep Pluralism 274 Introduction: Global International Society in Transition/Crisis 274 Plausible Assumptions about the Future of Seven Key Structural Features of Global International Society 279 The Global Economy 280 The Distribution of Power 281 The Nature of Great Powers 283 Scientific Knowledge and Technology 284 Shared Fates 285 Normative Structures 286 Conflict and Violence 289 The Outlook: A Post-Western Global International Society 291 Transition 291 Not ‘Back to the Future’ 292 A Layered, Deeply Pluralist, Post-Western Global International Society 293 Conclusions 297 10 Towards Global International Relations 298 Introduction 298 Hegemony and ‘Diversity’ in IR 300 Origins of Global IR 308 Dimensions of Global IR 313 A Global IR Research Agenda 322 Caveats and Risks 329 Conclusions 330 References 334 Index 376 One Principal Motive For Writing This Book Is To Take Advantage Of What Many, Though Not All, In The Field Of International Relations (ir) Will Take To Be The Centenary Of The Discipline In 2019. It Is The Longstanding Founding 'myth' Of Ir, Widely Taught In Introductory Courses, That It Came Into Being As A Formal Field Of Study In 1919 In Response To The Catastrophe Of The First World War. That 'myth' Sets Ir Up As Being A Response To The Urgent Problem Of How To Understand The Whole Problem Of Peace And War In The Society Of States (we Review This 'myth' And The Debate Around It, More Fully In Chapter 2). Big Anniversaries Like This One Are Good Opportunities To Pause, Take Stock, Review What Has Been Accomplished, And What Not, And Think About Where To Go From Here-- Introduction -- The World Up To 1919: The Making Of Modern International Relations -- Ir Up To 1919: Laying The Foundations -- The World 1919-1945: Still Version 1.0 Gis -- Ir 1919-1945: The First Founding Of The Discipline -- The World After 1945: The Era Of The Cold War And Decolonization -- Ir 1945-1989: The Second Founding Of The Discipline -- The World After 1989: Unipolarity, Globalization And The Rise Of The Rest -- Ir After 1989 -- The Post-western World Order: Deep Pluralism -- Towards Global Ir. Amitav Acharya, Barry Buzan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "One principal motive for writing this book is to take advantage of what many, though not all, in the field of International Relations (IR) will take to be the centenary of the discipline in 2019. It is the longstanding founding 'myth' of IR, widely taught in introductory courses, that it came into being as a formal field of study in 1919 in response to the catastrophe of the First World War. That 'myth' sets IR up as being a response to the urgent problem of how to understand the whole problem of peace and war in the society of states (we review this 'myth' and the debate around it, more fully in chapter 2). Big anniversaries like this one are good opportunities to pause, take stock, review what has been accomplished, and what not, and think about where to go from here"-- Provided by publisher A deep exploration of the emergence and development of modern international relations (IR) thinking in both the West and the Global South, relating the story of the field systematically to the world politics of the last two centuries. For students and scholars of international relations, particularly IR theory, the history of the discipline, and non-Western approaches.