Publications by John M. Hobson
International relations as we know them emerged through the peace of Westphalia, and the discipli... more International relations as we know them emerged through the peace of Westphalia, and the discipline of International Relations emerged in 1919 and developed through a First Great Debate between idealists and realists. These are the established myths of 1648 and 1919. In this article we demonstrate how historical and historiographical scholarship has demolished these myths, but that the myths regardless are pervasive in the current textbooks that are used in teaching future IR scholars. Disciplinary dialogue seems to have failed completely. Based on a detailed reading of the myths and their perpetuation, we discuss the consequences of the discipline’s reliance on mythical origins, why there has been so little incorporation of revisionist insight and what possibilities there are for enhancing the dialogue.
Papers by John M. Hobson
Asia in International Relations, 2017
Much of the postcolonial/non-Eurocentric literature that has emerged in recent years has conclude... more Much of the postcolonial/non-Eurocentric literature that has emerged in recent years has concluded that the key antidote to Eurocentrism lies with the need to factor Eastern agency into our theoretical and empirical understandings/ explanations of world politics/economics. While I certainly endorse this proposition, we need, however, to be aware that Eastern agency is already a factor in much, though not all, of Eurocentric international theory. Hence we confront the "postcolonial paradox of Eastern agency"-that while the perceived postcolonial/ non-Eurocentric antidote to Eurocentrism/ Orientalism is to "bring Eastern agency in" nevertheless it turns out that it was there in some form or another within international theory all along. This article reveals the different forms that Eastern agency takes within different variants of Eurocentric international theory while simultaneously opening up this concept to its multiple variants, thereby taking us beyond Edward Said's monolithic conception of Orientalism that he bequeathed to postcolonialism.
Emerging in the 1980s, maturing in the 1990s and taking-off in the 2000s, historical sociology ha... more Emerging in the 1980s, maturing in the 1990s and taking-off in the 2000s, historical sociology has become a major feature of contemporary International Relations (IR) theory. However, the origins of historical sociology run much deeper than this. Indeed, historical sociology can be seen as at least two centuries old – an attempt by economists, philosophers of history and nascent sociologists to provide a historically sensitive, yet generally applicable, account of the emergence of industrial capitalism, the rational bureaucratic state, novel forms of warfare and other core features of the modern world (introductions to the field include Abrams 1982; Skocpol ed. 1984; Smith 1991; Delanty & Isin eds. 2003; Mahoney & Rueschemeyer 2003). Although the place of historical sociology within Sociology suffered from that discipline’s diversion into abstract theorizing and its turf-wars with cognate rivals, historical sociology experienced something of a renaissance during the late 1970s and e...
The twin processes of "economic development" and "state behaviour" are explained by the major par... more The twin processes of "economic development" and "state behaviour" are explained by the major paradigms through reference to economically "reductionist" methodologies. In particular Marxist and Late Development theories have helped perpetuate this methodology. This thesis provides an alternative framevrork for understanding the above-mentioned processes. In particular, the " autonomous powers" of the state will form a central approach throughout each chapter. Not only do states have multiple powers, but these vary across different political regime forms. These powers are revealed through an eirpirLcal examination of the determination of tariff protectionism as it emerged in Europe in the late 187(y s. The argument will focus on a multi-causal approach. Thus the causal iiput of economic interest g r o u^ will be examined. A l t h o u^ these will form a part of the e^qilanation offered here, they will have less salience than is commonly found i n the social science literature. The interests of the state are mainly those connected to the demands of "fiscal accumulation!'. Overall "state interests" are neither monolithic nor unified. Thus it will not be possible to speak of the state as an "actor". States are not so rational as the term would iirply. Moreover, "the state" turns out to be a conplex political arena of struggling factions, all vying for exclusivist political power. These autonomous state struggles inpacted i;pon economic development; in this case, tariff protectionism. As well as explaining the rise of protectionism in Germany and Russia, as wall as America (chapter 2, 3 and 5), the maintenance of British free trade will be also be explained t h r o u^ the model presented here. I n addition, industrialisation i n Russia will be explained, also from the approach of statist-economy. This approach will be developed more fully in the final chapter. CONTENTS
Part 1 Traditional theories of the state and international relations 15 2 Realism 17 3 Liberalism... more Part 1 Traditional theories of the state and international relations 15 2 Realism 17 3 Liberalism 64 Part 2 Recent sociological theories of the state and international relations 107 4 Marxism 5 Constructivism 6 Weberian historical sociology Part 3 Conclusion: proposing a`structurationist' theory of the`constitutive' state and global politics 215 7: Summarising and resolving the`second state debate' References Index v vi
Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 2008
Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 2011
International relations as we know them emerged through the peace of Westphalia, and the discipli... more International relations as we know them emerged through the peace of Westphalia, and the discipline of International Relations emerged in 1919 and developed through a First Great Debate between idealists and realists. These are the established myths of 1648 and 1919. In this article we demonstrate how historical and historiographical scholarship has demolished these myths, but that the myths regardless are pervasive in the current textbooks that are used in teaching future IR scholars. Disciplinary dialogue seems to have failed completely. Based on a detailed reading of the myths and their perpetuation, we discuss the consequences of the discipline’s reliance on mythical origins, why there has been so little incorporation of revisionist insight and what possibilities there are for enhancing the dialogue.
Ethics & International Affairs, 2008
Working at the interstices of International Relations and International History, Cemil Aydin has ... more Working at the interstices of International Relations and International History, Cemil Aydin has produced an exceptionally detailed account of the rise and development of pan-Asian and pan-Islamic thought from the early nineteenth century through to World War II. The background theoretical hook might be summarized as a critique of Eurocentrism as well as (relatedly) Samuel Huntington's ''clash of civilizations'' approach. Aydin sets out to challenge popular assumptions that non-Western ideological movements are always hostile to Western values, on the one hand, and that such movements emerge as a function of either anticolonial struggles or conservative and religious reactions to global modernity, on the other. Rather, he reveals that these movements were often sympathetic to the West. And, crucially, when they did become critical they did so not in terms of rejecting Western values, but rather in terms of
Contemporary Sociology, 2003
Part I Introduction: Bringing historical sociology back into international relations 1 What's at ... more Part I Introduction: Bringing historical sociology back into international relations 1 What's at stake in 'bringing historical sociology back into international relations'? Transcending 'chronofetishism' and 'tempocentrism' in international relations 3 JOHN M. HOBSON 2 Historical sociology: back to the future of international relations? STEPHEN HOBDEN Part II Historical sociologies of international relations 3 The two waves of Weberian historical sociology in international relations JOHN M. HOBSON 4 Globality and historical sociology: state, revolution and war revisited MARTIN SHAW 5 Historical sociology and constructivism: an estranged past, a federated future? MICHAEL BARNETT 6 The idea of history and history with ideas 120 CHRISTIAN REUS-SMIT v vi Contents 7 World system analysis, historical sociology and international relations: the difference a hyphen makes BARRY K. GILLS 8 Towards a critical historical sociology of transnational harm ANDREW LINKLATER 9 Critical historical materialism and international law: imagining international law as praxis A. CLAIRE CUTLER 10 International systems in world history: remaking the study of international relations BARRY BUZAN AND RICHARD LITTLE Part III Conclusion: The future of historical sociology in international relations 11 Historical sociology and international relations theory STEVE SMITH
International Studies Review, 2017
This article argues that Critical IR theory's (CIRT) claims to reflexivity, its engagement with "... more This article argues that Critical IR theory's (CIRT) claims to reflexivity, its engagement with "difference," and its emancipatory stance are compromised by its enduringly Eurocentric gaze. While CIRT is certainly critical of the West, nevertheless its tendency toward "Eurofetishism"-by which Western agency is reified at the expense of non-Western agencyleads it into a "critical Eurocentrism." While this Eurofetishism plays out differently across the spectrum of CIRT, nevertheless all too often the West is treated as distinct from the non-West such that a fully relational conception of the West-one in which the non-West shapes, tracks, and inflects the West as much as vice versa-is either downplayed or dismissed altogether. Our antidote to this problem is to advance such a relational approach that brings non-Western agency back in while simultaneously recognizing that such agency is usually subjected to structural constraints. This gives rise to two core objectives: first, that non-Western agency needs to be taken seriously as an ontologically significant process in world politics, and second, that it needs to be explored in its complex, manifold dimensions. Here we seek to move beyond the colonial binaries of non-Western "silence vs. defiance" and an "all-powerful West vs. powerless non-West." For between these polarities lies a spectrum of instantiations of non-Western agency, running from the refusal
İnsan & Toplum Dergisi (The Journal of Human & Society), 2013
International Relations, as a discipline, does not grant race and racism explanatory agency in it... more International Relations, as a discipline, does not grant race and racism explanatory agency in its conventional analyses, despite such issues being integral to the birth of the discipline. Race and Racism in International Relations seeks to remedy this oversight by acting as a catalyst for remembering, exposing and critically re-articulating the central importance of race and racism in International Relations. Focusing especially on the theoretical and political legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of the "colour line", the cutting edge contributions in this text provide an accessible entry point for both International Relations students and scholars into the literature and debates on race and racism by borrowing insights from disciplines such as history, anthropology and sociology where race and race theory figures more prominently; yet they also suggest that the field of IR is itself an intellectually and strategic field through which to further confront the global colour ...
Millennium: Journal of International Studies
ABSTRACT
Review of International Studies
This article provides an ‘engaged’ introduction to this forum on Andrew Linklater’s recently publ... more This article provides an ‘engaged’ introduction to this forum on Andrew Linklater’s recently published book, Violence and Civilization in the Western States-Systems. I call this ‘engaged’ because I seek to adjudicate between the critics and Linklater’s book in the hope of building a bridge over troubled water. Given that the key word that underpins many of this forum’s contributions is Eurocentrism, I explore whether, and if so to what extent, Linklater’s book is Eurocentric. While I too identify various Eurocentric cues, I also provide various defences for Linklater. In particular, the final section advances two definitions of Eurocentrism and anti-Eurocentrism. Although I identify elements of ‘Eurocentrism I’ (the elision of non-Western agency and reification of the West) in his book, Linklater might respond to the principal forum complaint that he accords little or no role to non-Western actors and processes in the Western or global civilizing process by appealing to an alternati...
Paternalism beyond Borders, 2000
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09692290 2012 704519, Dec 4, 2013
In this article and in Part 2 I advance a ‘critical historiography’ of IPE which excavates to the... more In this article and in Part 2 I advance a ‘critical historiography’ of IPE which excavates to the deepest foundations of the discipline. For while I very much welcome Benjamin Cohen's seminal historiographical intervention, nevertheless it obscures two foundational properties of IPE. First, identifying 1970 as the birth-year of IPE produces a distorted image of the discipline's purpose and historiography
Human Figurations, Jul 1, 2012
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Publications by John M. Hobson
Papers by John M. Hobson