CfP Graduate Workshop on Classical IR and Political Theory‏

CALL FOR PAPERS GRADUATE WORKSHOP ON CLASSICAL IR AND POLITICAL THEORY organised by CRIPT (a BISA working group) in association with theDepartment of International Politics, AberystwythUniversity Friday, May 29th, 2009Main Hall, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University Since Martin Wight's landmark article 'Why is there no InternationalTheory?' IR theorists seem to have developed two main responses to Wight's argument. They have either considered thelack of a distinctively international body of thought as a rather alarming state of affairs to be amended under thepressures of globalisation and the gradual convergence of the politicalwith the international, or they have returned to the rather neglectedclassical tradition of political thought in order to employ this literature as ameans of achieving a better understanding of the contemporary world. It should not come as a surprise then thatthe use of the classics of political thought by contemporary IRtheorists usually reveals more a bout the latter than the former.Lately, some revisionist literature advocating a more contextualist approach has attempted tooffer an alternative, less presentistinterpretation of the classical tradition of political theory and itssignificance for the study of international politics. Classical authorssuch as Vitoria, Grotius, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant and Millare being revisited and their legacy in international relationsreappreciated under a new light and away from the distortions imposed by the study of IR as a social science. At the same time, new interpretations of 'classical' IR thinkers aregradually seeing the light of day. The work of classical realists like Carr, Niebuhr, Morgenthau and Herz is beingreappraised in order to reveal the critical and normative elements intheir thought. Similarly, the contribution of interwar idealists isbeing re-evaluated beyond simplifications and disciplinary distortions.Some scholars even talk about a positivist 'detour' of the disciplinethat has contributed to the silencing of any complexity and ambiguity inthe work of canonical IR thinkers and the discrediting of the criticalelements of classical realist thought. With the emergence of a criticaland post-structuralist preoccupation in the field, the suppressedaspects of classical realism have come to the fore revealing hiddenprospects and fruitful opportunities for a critical re-engagement withcanonical IR thinkers. This workshop seeks to investigate the nature and significance of thisre-engagement with classical thinkers both in political theory and IR and to assess the ways in which it has beenconducted. We invite paper proposals from graduate students and youngacademics working in the fields of international politics, social andpolitical theory and the history of ideas. Possible topics may include: 1) Why do classical thinkers remain integral to the study ofInternational Relations (as a discipline and a subject matter) andinternational political theory in a globalised world?2) To what extent does the critique of traditional accounts oftimeless concepts in international political theory reflect similardebates already conducted in the domain of political theory?3) Is it possible to theorise international politics beyond the'perennialist' vs. 'contextualist' divide in order to create a newsynthesis that would move the field forward?4) In what way might such synthesis retrieve key concepts of ourpolitical culture (such as democracy, liberty, human rights) and addressthe complex issues of our time without succumbing to presentism orideological misuse?5) What could be the basis of a fruitful re-engagement with thecanonical thinkers of classical realism and idealism?6) What are the lessons we can draw for IR as a discipline andfor international politics as a subject matter from the work of'classical' IR thinkers such as Woolf, Niebuhr, Morgenthau and Mitrany(to name only a few)?7) Is there room to re-think possible connections and conceptualoverlap between classical realist thinking and critical international theory?8) Teaching the classical tradition of IR and internationalpolitical theory: how to engage and challenge students? Deadline for abstracts: FRIDAY, MAY 8 2009 Please send paper title, abstract (of no more than 300 words), and yourinstitutional affiliation to cript@lse.ac.uk. Registration fee: A33 (students)/ A35 (staff). Some limited fundswill be available to cover paper givers expenses. For any furtherinformation, please contact CRIPT conveners Anthony Cooper (RoyalHolloway), Susanna Karlsson(Aberystwyth), Vassilis Paipais (LSE) and Andreja Zevnik (Aberystwyth),at cript@lse.ac.uk.