Of Parts and Wholes
International Relations beyond the Human
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11921889 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erika Cudworth (0000-0002-5687-5581, University of East London), Stephen Hobden (0000-0002-6058-8964, University of East London) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 430-450 |
| Publication date | 2013-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Millennium Journal of International Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-8298 • E-ISSN: 1477-9021 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0305829813485875 |
| OpenAlex | W2164938225 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 30 |
| References cited | 8 |
While some theorists in International Relations have engaged with thinking about complexity, we would argue that few have thought it through to its logical conclusion – the interconnectedness of systems, and the implications for agency and structure. This article examines the structure–agency question using the framework of ‘posthuman international relations’, which draws on recent thinking in complexity and argues for an approach to the study of global politics that is post-Newtonian and non-anthropocentric. Key elements of a complexity-based approach are examined, and it is argued that these provide a novel way of considering issues of agency and structure. They also raise issues for the analysis of agency and the link between actions and outcomes. Complex systems can present problems of analysis related to unpredictability, causality and non-linearity. Having laid out a framework for thinking about action and context in international politics, the article turns to questions of agency and practice within complex systems. Perhaps the most significant claim here is that it is possible to conceive of agency beyond the human. Drawing upon Margaret Archer’s discussions of primary and corporate agency, a threefold approach to thinking about structure and agency is developed, which allows us to think about agency beyond the human. Finally, an explanation is given as to why a complex approach to thinking about international relations ultimately implies a posthuman perspective
Agency (philosophy · Anthropocentrism · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · International relations · Political science · Politics · Posthuman · Sociology · Structure and agency · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Philosophy
Transparency from Space
Security in Crisis
Complexity Theory as a New Lens in IR
International Relations in a Relational Universe
Being of Use
Precarity in a Black Anthropocene
A Solarpunk Manifesto
Exploring Complexities of Political Ecology in the Research and Practice of Environmental Education
Track-Change Diplomacy
Democratism
Significance of Classical Narratives, Visual and Performing Arts in the Contemplation and Configuration of Soft-Power Diplomatic Relationships Between India and Southeast Asia
Making space for critical realism in greening IR theory
The Ends of the World
Peirce’s semeiotics
Slow urbicide
The Local, the ‘Indigenous’ and the Limits of Rethinking Peacebuilding
Analysing Change
Multiplicity expanded
Liberation for Straw Dogs? Old Materialism, New Materialism, and the Challenge of an Emancipatory Posthumanism
Ebola’s entanglements
Robot Wars
International Relations as a Social System
Genocide in Sudan as Colonial Ecology
We have never been civilized
Enfolding wholes in parts
Security, ethics, and animals
Concrete and coal
Sounds of (In)Security
Resilience in the context ofconflict-relatedsexual violence and beyond
Friendship is a slow ripening fruit
| Unique citing works | 30 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2026 (13) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 29 |