Routledge Critical Imaginations in International Relations (Interventions)

This exciting new text brings together in one volume an overview of the many reflections on how we might address the problems and limitations of a state-centred approach in the discipline of International Relations (IR). The book is structured into chapters on key concepts, with each providing an introduction to the concept for those new to the field of critical politics – including undergraduate and postgraduate students – as well as drawing connections between concepts and thinkers that will be provocative and illuminating for more established researchers in the field. They give an overview of core ideas associated with the concept; the critical potential of the concept; and key thinkers linked to the concept, seeking to address the following questions: How has the concept traditionally been understood? How has the concept come to be understood in critical thinking? How is the concept used in interrogating the limits of state centrism? What different possibilities for engaging with international relations have been envisioned through the concept? Why are such possibilities for alternative thinking about international relations important? What are some key articles and volumes related to the concept which readers can go for further research? Drawing together some of the key thinkers in the field of critical International Relations and including both established and emerging academics located in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, this book is a key resource for students and scholars alike. Review 'Here is a good place to start digging into today's fresh, innovative thinking in International Relations . The 16 concepts critically explored here show us why we'll all be smarter if we push the state off its lime-light-hogging center stage.' - Cynthia Enloe,Clark University, USA 'This innovative book enables the reader to think differently about the closures and openings in international relations theory, for so long defined by the centrality of the state. By utilizing common and not-so-common themes the book succeeds in refreshing the theoretical imagination and thus provides an edifying experience for students and scholars alike.' - Robbie Shilliam, Queen Mary University of London, UK ‘This theoretically engaging and accessibly written collection of essays enriches understandings of how state-centrism limits the intellectual and political imaginations of scholars and practitioners. It is a valuable research and teaching resource for scholars in a wide range of fields, including International Relations, Critical Legal Studies, Border Studies, Citizenship Studies and Globalization Studies.' - Cynthia Weber, Sussex University, UK 'For at least two decades, critical imaginations have insinuated themselves into the literatures of the international relations. The essays in this volume go well beyond a mere summary of that trend. An outstanding collection of authors provides the critical thinking that students of international relations will need to imagine a global world no longer quarantined within the tradition sovereignty models and power politics paradigms that have characterized the discipline’s mainstream mentality.' - Michael J. Shapiro, University of Hawai’i, Manoa, USA 'International relations arguably express the conditions within which political critique has been possible and certainly affirm the urgent need for a more creative political imagination. This book engages directly with concepts and principles through which critique and imagination have been re-energised in this context. Combining serious scholarship with accessible style, practical wisdom and timely provocation, it engages with many conceptual challenges facing anyone persuaded that we live in times and spaces of dramatic transformation.' - R. B. J. Walker, University of Victoria, Canada 'Critical Imaginations in International Relations is suitable for advanced students at all levels, but also for tenured scholars