Concepts at Work: On the Linguistic Infrastructure of World Politics

Description

Concepts are socially and linguistically constructed and used for multiple purposes, such as justifying war in the name of democracy; or, using the idea of democracy to resist Western intervention and influence. In this fascinating and novel edited collection, Piki Ish-Shalom and his team of authors interrogate the “conceptions of concepts” in international relations. Using theoretical frameworks from Gramsci and Bourdieu, among others, the authors show that not interrogating the meaning of the language we use to talk about international relations obscures the way we understand (or portray) IR. The authors examine self-determination, winning in war, avoidance of war, military design and reform agenda, vagueness in political discourse, “blue economy,” friendship, and finally, the very idea of the “international community” itself. As the author asserts, Bourdieu’s sociology of field and Gramsci’s political theory combined “offer us a sociopolitical theory of relations of power and domination concealed by doxic knowledge and taken-for-granted rules, in which essential contested concepts and political-serving conceptions can and do play an important role.” Contents Preface Chapter 1. Introduction-Piki Ish-Shalom Chapter 2. Talking about Self-Determination: Contested Conceptions and Political Implications of an Undisputed Concept-Jonas Wolff Chapter 3. The Concept of Success in (and of) War-Brent J. Steele and Luke Campbell Chapter 4. The Ambivalence of (Not) Being in a “War”: The “Civilian Power” Germany and the “Stabilization Operation” in Afghanistan-Anna Geis Chapter 5. Encountering Nomads in Israel Defense Forces and Beyond-Philippe Beaulieu-Brossard Chapter 6. Political Concepts and Vagueness: Cyberattacks in the Israeli Political Discourse-Neta Strunin-Kremer Chapter 7. Shifting Tides: The Blue Economy and Concepts in Practice-Christian Bueger Chapter 8. Enabling Critique: The Use of “Friendship” in German-Israeli Relations-Felix Berenskötter Chapter 9. The Conceptual Virtues of the International Community as an Empty Signifier-Mor Mitrani Chapter 10. Concluding Chapter: Concepts at Work in Global IR-Jan Wilkens and Oliver Kessler Contributors Index