The false promise of global IR: exposing the paradox of dependent development

Date

2021-10-01

Author

Aydinli, Ersel
Erpul, Onur

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

222
views

0
downloads

Concerned about the continued dominance of Western International Relations (IR) theories, the global IR community has proposed various measures to address disciplinary hierarchies through encouraging dialogue and pluralism. By investigating the pedagogical preferences of instructors from 45 countries, this paper questions the global IR initiative's emancipatory potential, arguing that disciplinary practices in IR resemble those of dependent development. The study develops a new typology of IR theoretical (IRT) scholarship and examines the readings assigned in 151 IRT syllabi worldwide for evidence of similarity, replication, and assimilation. The findings show that mainstream core IRTs dominate syllabi globally, regardless of region, language of instruction, or instructors' educational/linguistic backgrounds. This domination extends to periphery scholars not using their own local products. Even when they do seek alternative approaches, they prefer to import core alternatives, that is, critical traditions, rather than homegrown IRTs. Finally, the results show that even in syllabi taught in local languages the readings remain dominated by core IRT works. These findings expose a structural defect in the current cry for global IR, by revealing the system's dependent development paradox. The paper concludes with suggestions for creating a symmetric interdependent structure, in the aim of achieving a genuine globalization of IR.

Subject Keywords

Global IR, non-Western IR, core and periphery, homegrown IR theory, dependency, pedagogy, syllabus studies, INTERNATIONAL-RELATIONS IR, AMERICAN SOCIAL-SCIENCE, WORLD, DISCIPLINE, ANARCHY, STATE, US, ECLECTICISM, DIVERSITY, DIALOGUE

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/100188

Journal

INTERNATIONAL THEORY

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1017/s175297192100018x

Collections

Department of International Relations, Article

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Theories of Revolutions and the Arab Uprisings Göçer Akder, Derya (2013-01-01) The recent Arab Uprisings will lead to significant rethinking of critical issues in the region as well as important topics in social theory. Social movements, the role of militaries, the politicization of the youth, and social media networks are among these issues. These rethinking efforts will also have implications for the theories of revolutions. The media as well as some of the actors involved were quick to label these uprisings as the last contemporary wave of revolutions. This article explores whether...
An analysis of the minorities issue in Turkey-European Union relations Ongur, Hakan Övünç; Kahraman, Sevilay; Department of European Studies (2006) The aim of this thesis is to analyze the minorities issue within the Turkey-European Union relations. In the study, international, European and Turkish perspectives in minority understanding will be explored, respectively. The main argument will read: “Minorities issue is a highly politicized matter upon which neither legal nor academic standards are reached commonly in international, European or Turkish perspectives; thus, it must not constitute one of the focal points in Turkey-EU relations”. The analyses...
THE REGIONALIZATION DILEMMA OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 1990s: THE SYSTEMIC IMPACT APPROACH IN MIDDLE POWER THEORY Topal, Merve; Tür Küçükkaya, Özlem; Department of International Relations (2021-10-26) This dissertation aims to explain the compelling impact of the rising regional issues in the post-1990s on Turkey's middle power status through the lenses of the systemic impact approach in middle power theory and the regionalization concept. The Systemic Impact Approach takes systemic influence as the essential indicator of the middle power status and provides an outcome-oriented perspective on middle powers. This thesis first explains Turkey’s rise to middle power status as it adopted its foreign policy t...
Understanding the role of the national human rights institutions in implementing the sustainable development agenda : the case of Europe Kaşkaval Okyay, Ezgi; Bahçecik, Şerif Onur; Department of European Studies (2020) This thesis aims to analyze the role of the European National Human Rights Institutions in global governance through the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Throughout the research it has been observed that NHRIs are evolving and academic works lag behind capturing their expanding role. Within this context, this thesis attempts to understand the possible contribution of NHRIs to the implementation and follow-up process of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Throughout the thesis National Human Rig...
The Limits of realist conception of security: examing the views of Campbell and Waever / Seven, Elfesiya; Deveci, Cem; Department of Political Science and Public Administration (2015) This thesis examines two different and contemporary theories which criticize the centrality of “security issues” in the re-establishment of the post-Cold War international order as one of the fundamental principles of the realist school. The views of David Campbell and Copenhagen Securitization School focus on the role of “the security issue” in the determination of the Cold War policies, and ask whether this security care lost its effects or not in the process of determination of foreign policies. Both of ...

Citation Formats

E. Aydinli and O. Erpul, “The false promise of global IR: exposing the paradox of dependent development,” INTERNATIONAL THEORY, pp. 0–0, 2021, Accessed: 00, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/100188.