International Relations: The Dawn of a Historiographical Turn?

Bell, Duncan

doi:10.1111/1467-856x.00053

Cited by 66 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…And since the end of the Cold War, there has been renewed interest in historical approaches and even the suggestion of a 'historical turn' in the discipline (VaughanWilliams, 2005, p. 116;Teschke, 2003, pp. 1-2;Bell, 2001;Hobden, 2002, p. 56;Lawson, 2012).…”

Section: Bridging the Gap Between History And Irmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Imperial Origins of Social and Political Thought

Jahn¹

2017

International Origins of Social and Political Theory

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The attempt to recover the international origins of social and political thought is motivated by the unsatisfactory fragmentation of modern knowledge -by its failure to account for the intimate connections between theory and history in general and its international dimension in particular -and seeks to overcome these divides. This article provides an analysis of the theory/history divide and its role for the fragmentation of modern knowledge. Theoretically, it shows, this divide is rooted in, and reproduced by, the epistemic foundations of modern knowledge. Historically, the modern episteme arises from a crisis of imperial politics in the 18th century. This analysis suggests that theory, history, and the international are products rather than origins of modern social and political thought. These historical origins thus do not provide the basis for more integrated forms of knowledge. They do, however, reveal that and how the fragmentation of knowledge itself simultaneously serves and obscures the imperialist dimension of modern politics.

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Section: Bridging the Gap Between History And Irmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Imperial Origins of Social and Political Thought

Jahn¹

2017

International Origins of Social and Political Theory

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“…One of the by-products of this debate, however, is the opening of space for other forms of theoretical and methodological discussion. More recently, discussion has centred around the 'historical turn' (Bell, 2001), which encourages scholars to be aware of debates that draw attention to the attendant difficulties of establishing closed historical interpretation (Vaughan-Williams, 2005). This discussion of approaches opens up IR to an awareness of a plurality and diversity of approaches, one that enriches the field and continues the challenges to earlier disciplinary calls for a unified 'science'.…”

Section: Contemporary International Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking Back to Move Forward: Historicising the Construction of Disciplinary Narratives in European Political Science and International Relations

Savigny

2010

Eur Polit Sci

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Politics and International Relations (IR) tend to be discussed as separate disciplines. Rather than emphasising their shared divisions and methodological differences, dominant narratives separate the two, but these narratives also serve to reinforce and legitimate (to slightly differing degrees) the dominance of American positivism. As such, it is argued that if we are to understand the contemporary state of both disciplines, it is useful to reflect on their historical development. The aim of this article is (briefly) to map critically the development of Politics and IR as disciplines that, while having differing historical beginnings, have developed as parallel rather than integrated disciplines facing similar internal epistemological, methodological and cultural divisions. It is noted, however, that their parallel development is uneven, with challenges to the mainstream coming far earlier in IR than Politics, and as such opening the way for much greater acceptance of the notion of methodological pluralism in contemporary IR (outside the US) than in the study of Politics. Further, it is argued that the writing of histories of the disciplines thus far have served to legitimate and reinforce dominant Western conceptions of IR and Politics both descriptively and normatively.

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“…In thinking about this question, alternative titles considered for the review were 'The Continuing Historiographical Turn in IR' (see Bell, 2001), or possibly, 'Waltz's Market Realism'. The first of these prospective titles would suggest that the discipline is currently undergoing a phase of historiographical introspection, with reappraisals not only of the classical figures like Thucydides (Lebow, 2003) but also more contemporary thinkers, in particular Morgenthau, Carr and Bull (Williams, 2005;Little, 2007;Alderson and Hurrell, 1999).…”

Section: Securing Waltz's Legacy?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Securing Waltz's Legacy?

McCourt

2009

Eur Polit Sci

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International Relations: The Dawn of a Historiographical Turn?

Cited by 66 publications

References 17 publications

The Imperial Origins of Social and Political Thought

The Imperial Origins of Social and Political Thought

Looking Back to Move Forward: Historicising the Construction of Disciplinary Narratives in European Political Science and International Relations

Securing Waltz's Legacy?

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