International Relations in the Anthropocene

Abstract

While the 1990s and 2000s saw International Relations scholarship moving away from the 'realism' of inter-state relations towards the 'liberal' framings of global politics, the 2010s marked a shift away from universal, modernist or 'linear' understandings of power and agency. In a world, construed as more complex, contingent and relational and replete with crises and unpredicted 'tipping points', traditional assumptions are up-ended and unintended consequences seem more relevant than 'good intentions'. Concomitantly, the methodological focus has switched away from understanding the essence of entities and towards privileging the analysis of relations, networks and contexts. Key to this has been debates focused around climate change and global warming which explicitly cast policy problems not as external threats to the 'good life' (that requires securing) but as instead questioning the starting assumptions of separations between inside/ outside, humanity/ nature, solutions/ problems and referents/ threats. This elicits a very different way of thinking, the implications of which may not always be easy for students (and their lecturers) to immediately grasp. This article seeks to provide a much needed basis for engaging with this exciting and growing field, which will fundamentally influence approaches to the politics and problems of International Relations