LG514: International Relations Theory Lecture 7: Postpositivism – Critique or Crisis? Ken McDonagh School of Law and Government

Overview: Postpositivism/Postmodernism – what’s in a name? The Crisis of modernity Language and Knowledge Three key concerns: – Identity – Sovereignty – Ethics Postmodernism in practice Research programme, Critique or Crisis

Postpositivism/postmodernism – what’s in a name? Often used interchangeably Generally accepted that ‘postpositivism’ is a broader category that simply involves a rejection of positivism – That reality can be observed in a objective or ‘value-free’ manner ‘postmodernism’ is more specifically a critique of the Enlightenment project as a whole, particularly the concepts of ‘Truth’ and ‘emancipation’ ‘poststructuralism’ refers to the approach to linguistics that follows ‘structuralism’

The Crisis of Modernity “I define post-modern as incredulity towards metanarratives” Jean Francois Lyotard, 1984 Questioning of both modern Western values and the (then) major alternative – Communism An approach that was sceptical of claims to ‘Truth’ and certainty seeing these as mere effects of power – Foucault and Power/Knowledge – Truth "is the sort of error that cannot be refuted because it has hardened into an unalterable form in the long baking process of history." (1977)

Language and Knowledge Saussure, Semiotics and Structural Linguistics Delinking of meaning and being Language as a system of meaning divorced from ‘brute’ material forces – Under-determination of meaning by things – People don’t have access to the world out there, instead knowledge is always mediated and shaped through language – What appears to be ‘True’ is instead a reflection of power relations within discourse – Escaping the effects of power in this sense is impossible – Rather we have an interplay of interpretations – The key question is how particular interpretations become dominant/ ‘true’

Postmodernism in Practice Textualising world politics – The importance of Discourse Genealogy (Foucault) – History of the present – How is this present possible? Deconstruction (Derrida) – The structure of the world reflects the structure of language – Opposition and privilege e.g. civilised/barbaric

Postmodernism and IR Introduced to the discipline in the 1980’s Concerned with a critique of the mainstream neo- neo approaches – See for example Richard K Ashley “The poverty of neo- realism” (1984 International Organisation) Postmodern approaches questioned the mainstream on two grounds: – Sovereignty – Identity

IR Theory and Sovereignty How is the sovereign state instituted as the normal mode of international subjectivity? Sovereignty is the practice of violence and exclusion – The power to decide, to include or exclude, to protect or to kill Violence, Boundaries and Identity Politics and violence Violence plays a key role in the formation and maintenance of states

IR Theory and Identity The constructed and contingent nature of identity Defined in terms of normal and rational self against an irrational pathologised ‘other’ The practice of statecraft then is the production and policing of these identities and distinctions The effect is a naturalisation of the state and sovereignty States then are an effect of political practices and not the starting point for theorising Postmodern IR theory sets out to highlight the costs of this approach – the absences and silences that emerge

Morals, Ethics and Postmodernity Critics of Postmodern approaches argue that at best its amoral and worst immoral Anti-foundational = anything goes Alternatives to foundational ethics: – The Diplomatic ethos – (Ashley and Walker 1990) – Levinas & Relational ethics (neighbourliness) – (Campbell 1994 & 1998) – Rawls ‘A Theory of Justice’ 1999 – Rorty "One can want to relieve suffering without having an interesting answer when Socrates asks you why you desire this" (Papers, 2: 198).

Postmodernism and Practice David Campbell National Deconstruction: Violence, Identity and Justice in Bosnia 1998 Critique of the privileging of ‘ethnicity’ in narratives of the conflict Rather argues that ethnic divisions are an effect rather than a cause of political breakdown Furthermore, the privileging of sovereignty and territoriality in Western discourse exacerbated rather than alleviated the problem By demonstrating the contingent nature of identity he points to the need for a reformulation of both identity and sovereignty

Research programme, critique or crisis? “Reflective approaches are less well specified as theories: their advocates have been more adept at pointing out what is omitted in rationalistic theory than in developing theories of their own with a-prior content” (Keohane 1988) Do postmodern approaches represent a useful approach to IR or are they too introspective and focussed on problematising other theories? A ‘productive irritation’?