Policy Press

International Theory at the Margins

Neglected Essays, Recurring Themes

By Nicholas Greenwood Onuf

Published

Mar 12, 2024

Page count

282 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in International Theory

ISBN

978-1529229820

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jan 18, 2023

Page count

282 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in International Theory

ISBN

978-1529229813

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jan 18, 2023

Page count

282 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in International Theory

ISBN

978-1529229837

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jan 18, 2023

Page count

282 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in International Theory

ISBN

978-1529229837

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press
International Theory at the Margins

This book brings together thirteen essays from the celebrated international theorist Nicholas Greenwood Onuf. They address topics that Onuf has puzzled over for decades, prompting him to develop a distinctive perspective on international theory as social theory. Among these topics are the problem of materiality in social construction, epochal change in the modern world and the power of language.

Building on the work of giants, from Aristotle and Cicero, Hume and Kant, to Derrida and Foucault, and drawing on diverse contemporary theorists, including Seyla Benhabib, James Der Derian, Johan Galtung, Morton Kaplan, Joseph Nye, James Rosenau, Elaine Scarry and Kenneth Waltz, the book ranges over the margins of the fi eld and settles on issues that have never been put to rest.

"The multifaceted essays are complemented in the book with the author's intellectual depth, theoretical rigour and philosophical engagement." International Affairs

“Each story in this volume is a little gem. Juxtaposed, they make what Onuf terms the ‘undisciplined subject matter’ of international relations even less disciplined, and therefore more inviting and exciting.” Anna Leander, Geneva Graduate Institute

Nicholas Greenwood Onuf is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University.

Introduction

Part 1: Politics: Deciding What Matters

1. Comparative International Politics (1982)

2. Prometheus Prostrate (1984)

3. Centre–Periphery Relations (2017)

4. On Power (2017)

Part 2: Ethics: Doing What We Should

5. Rules for Torture? (2009)

6. The Ambiguous Modernism of Seyla Benhabib (2009)

7. Relative Strangers (2013)

8. Ethical Systems (2016)

Part 3: Semantics: Saying What We See

9. Writing Large (2000)

10. Intertextual Relations (2009)

11. World-making, State-building (2014)

12. What We Do (2018)

13. The Dinosaur Speaks! (2018)

Afterword