- 1995/253 pages
The Return of Culture and Identity in IR Theory
The authors address a series of questions: What explains the sustained lack of interest in culture and identity in IR theory? What is the case for rethinking the contemporary theoretical reach of these concepts? What are the most productive ways of defining them—elusive as they are—and integrating them in research endeavors? And finally, what are the risks, if any, associated with implementing the intellectual swing of pendulum documented and advocated in this book?
Though clearly not endorsing any form of cultural determinism, the contributors concur that the incorporation of a carefully sensitized culture/identity optic can serve as an important corrective to IR scholarship in an era of turbulent global transformation. Significant disagreements notwithstanding, they share the conviction that it is difficult to exaggerate the political and intellectual stakes involved in questions of culture and identity.
