Yet, similar attacks in Beirut and Nigeria in November 2015 and Baghdad in July 2016 (to name but a few) went largely unnoticed and were silenced within regimes of truth that mourned for, or favoured, the ‘innocent’ Western victim. Find out more about this, and many other, International Relations theories with a range of multimedia resources compiled by E-IR. Most importantly, poststructuralism allows you to become care- fully attuned to -- and interrogate -- the many ways that power is exercised. The impact of poststructuralism within IR theory comes from its ability to not only identify and uncover power relations that dictate political events but also make space for alternative discourses to emerge that can also affect the course of events. Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to Additionally, these terrorists were set apart as different from more traditional forms of terrorism that the world had previously witnessed through the highlighting of the lethality and deadliness of mass murdering transnational terrorism – a move which heightened the emotions of fear and anxiety further. AFRICA | Find out more about E-IR's range of open access books here. The importance of poststructuralism is to highlight existing regimes of truth and show that conventional ways of thinking and analysis in international relations are unable to point out how certain other possibilities are excluded by these discourses from the very start. From this we must recognise that elite and everyday discourses co-exist and, although one assumes a dominant position, there are still many other competing discourses at play that shape international relations and have the potential to contribute to under- standings commonly seen as ‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’. The starting point for a post-structural theoretical vision is language and signification. Themes of patriotism and civility were deployed within the media to further distance the cohesive ‘us’ from the generic barbarian terrorist. How did the positing of an unbridgeable chasm between the civilised society and the primeval terrorist, within this regime of truth, favour elite agendas? Within the regime of truth of the War on Terror, then, this emotive discourse was extended to every Muslim, every Arab, and, eventually, every non-Westerner. Discourses which augment the power of elites are called dominant or official discourses by poststructuralists. Structuralist ideas are rooted in Marxist analysis and focus on how the dominant economic structures of society affect (i.e., exploit) class interests and relations. ECONOMICS | Foucault is usually described as a post-structuralist, as is Derrida; deconstruction is also said to be a form of post-structuralism. Full references for citations can be found in the PDF version, linked at the top of this page. Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted 'facts' and 'beliefs' actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of … Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our This viewpoint is underscored by Foucault’s (1984, 127) assertion that ‘we must not imagine the world turns towards us a legible face which we would only have to decipher’. Elnur Ismayilov Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. Themes of patriotism and civility were deployed within the media to further distance the cohesive 'us' from the generic barbarian terrorist. International Relations. bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Post Structuralism In International Relations. Poststructuralists argue that ‘knowledge’ comes to be accepted as such due   to the power and prominence of certain actors in society known as ‘elites’, who then impose it upon others. The impact of poststructuralism within International Relations comes from its ability to not only identify and uncover power relations that dictate political events but also make space for alternative discourses. The strength of dominant discourses lies in their ability to shut out other options or opinions to the extent that thinking outside the realms set by the discourse is seen as irrational. This discourse argues that post-structuralism as a theoretical and philosophical perspective may be beneficial to the study of international politics within the field of International Relations. FOREIGN POLICY | Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted ‘facts’ and ‘beliefs’ actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of particular actors within international relations. The pervasion of this discourse also served to conflate the motivations and acts of these terrorists with the construction of a wider Muslim and Arab society. Many thanks! TECH | For such critics, to understand truth only semantically leads Butler argues that thousands of people are lost to conflict in countries such as Palestine and Afghanistan, often at the hands of Western powers, and yet these people are not mourned or memorialised or even heard of within Western reports of war. As such, if we want to observe   how people have come to conceive and frame both terrorism and terrorists, the poststructuralist can analyse media accounts in order to analyse the discursive construction of these political actors and associated terrorist events. Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted 'facts' and 'beliefs' actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of particular actors within international relations. Jenny Edkins (2006) uses the example of famines to show that when elite actors refer to famine as a natural disaster, they are removing the event from its political context. The official discourse across an event, although powerful, never fully accounts for the reading of the entire situation. In contrast to this, was the cultivation of the idea of 'American innocence' (Boswell 2001) that was 'vulnerable to hate' (Boyd 2001), coupled with the persistent repetition and reminder of the suffering of the victims of 9/11 and the heroism of the first responders. W.V. Interspersed with this, the widespread international outcry to the attacks simultaneously worked to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity of these actors. E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Site Map | These entities exist independently of one’s knowledge of them. This is particularly because, as it is examined throughout this essay, post-structuralism generally does not seek to present a specific worldview of its … Elites take on a range of forms and occupy many different roles in contemporary society. For this reason, poststructuralists encourage researchers to be sceptical of universal narratives that attempt to offer an objective worldview, as these assumptions are heavily influenced by pre-existing assumptions of what is true -- and usually underlined by the views of those in power. In the field of International Relations (IR) this can cover diplomacy, negotiation and the difference between war and peace. These ideas and concepts have been used to produce new knowledge about world politics. Section. Jenny Edkins (2006) uses the example of famines to show that when elite actors refer to famine as a natural disaster, they are removing the event from its political context. Instead, post-structuralism is an approach, attitude, or ethos that pursues critique in particular way. As the United States was drawn further into destructive and protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the public opinion that had supported intervention began to wane. Hence, this binary opposition enabled Bush to claim that the United States was opposite to all that this trio represented and would be justified in taking various actions during a global campaign against states that were judged to sponsor, or harbour, terrorists. HEALTH | This chapter examines the use of discourse analysis in the study of foreign policy. In practice, the dominant discourse of securing the state often works to silence any concerns about enhanced state power. In the late nineteenth century, Western science expended considerableenergy on the problem of perception of the physical world, inparticular the surprising results of the Michelson-Morley experiment.One of the most influential figures of this time was Ernst Mach.I would like to quote a few words from his most famous work, TheAnalysis of Sensations: "The vague image which we have of a given permanent complex[of sensations], being an image which does not perceptibly changewhen one … Within the regime of truth of the War on Terror, then, this emotive discourse was extended to every Muslim, every Arab, and, eventually, every non-Westerner. Thus, the official discourse regarding terrorism and intervention was changing and this shift can be identified by a shift to more clandestine forms of intervention in the Middle East from 2009 onwards -- watermarked by the presidency of Barack Obama. As the defining global terrorist attack of the twenty-first century, the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States can be used to convey how dominant discourses, instigated by governmental elites, were perpetuated and reinforced by the media. Moreover, the emotions that the narratives of these actions evoked related back to feelings of love, empathy and altruism that the media utilised to engender further cohesion in society against the ‘other’ of the terrorist. To underscore this link to death and destruction, the media narrative also consistently linked both the acts and actors of 9/11 to images and metaphors of pestilence and disease. In the study of international relations, discourse analysis is associated with post-structuralism, a theoretical approach that shares realism’s concern with states and power, but differs from realism’s assumption that states are driven by self-interest. Aishling Mc Morrow is a Lecturer in International Relations at Queen's University Belfast, UK. As the defining global terrorist attack of the twenty-first century, the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States can be used to convey how dominant discourses, instigated by governmental elites, were perpetuated and reinforced by the media. The power relation that is embedded within this relationship (for example, good versus evil or developed versus undeveloped) serves to reinforce the preferred meaning within the discursive construct. If we look to the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001 (commonly known as 9/11) we can see these categories of differentiation and their influence begin to manifest themselves. Abstract: The paper examined Post Structuralism within the context of International Relations, despite the fact that, post structuralism actually give a number of general and constructive puzzle which can be administer in other to approach the study of international politics in a different directions. Therefore, by design, poststructuralism conflicts with the bulk of other IR theories as it finds them unable (or unwilling) to fully account for the true diversity of international relations. SPORTS, RSS Feeds | The conventional paradigms of International Relations (IR) have been designing global politics until the 1980s. An elite programme to restrict civil liberties can be justified to a society conditioned by the 'expert' repetition of this discourse by appealing to the objective logic it asserts and discounting all other interpretations. The increased use of special forces and drone strikes allowed Obama to continue to exert influence over the region without overtly declaring war -- while also distancing his administration from the military intervention that defined that of his predecessor. It certainly prevented the chance of dealing with these attacks through diplomacy, as the overarching discourse stated that these terrorists merely wanted to destroy the world before them. Therefore, the move to achieve increased levels of security without the infringement upon personal or civil liberties is excluded from the argument, as the two are constantly being positioned in direct opposition to each other. Panel Number 46. WEALTH | Therefore, the move to achieve increased levels of security without the infringement upon personal or civil liberties is excluded from the argument, as the two are constantly being positioned in direct opposition to each other. With the simplistic interpretation of the historical relations between the 'West' and 'East' that was encouraged in this discursive construction, the regime of truth played upon and amplified the notion of the Muslim or Arab world as backward and primordial. Therefore, by design, poststructuralism conflicts with the bulk of other IR theories as it finds them unable (or unwilling) to fully account for the true diversity of international relations. Click Here: International Relations Theory (E-IR Foundations) Post-structuralism wants us to take think critically about how we construct the world. Therefore, the ways that famines occur as a result of elites taking particular forms of political action, through processes of exploitation or inaction due to profits on increased food prices, are lost when they are presented as unavoidable natural disasters. The official discourse across an event, although powerful, never fully accounts for the reading of the entire situation. The power relation that is embedded within this relationship (for example, good versus evil or developed versus undeveloped) serves to reinforce the preferred meaning within the discursive construct. Panel Chair . Through language, certain actors, concepts and events are placed in hierarchical pairs, named binary oppositions, whereby one element of the set is favoured over the other in order to create or perpetuate meaning. The impact of poststructuralism within IR theory comes from its ability to not only identify and uncover power relations that dictate political events but also make space for alternative discourses to emerge that can also affect the course of events. Poststructuralism encourages a way of looking at the world that challenges what comes to be accepted as 'truth' and 'knowledge'. LATIN AMERICA | This messy entanglement of the everyday and the elite shows that a plethora of discourses can coexist and craft the view of international relations that we are offered. Shop Amazon.com | In this discursive construct, then, people are presented with the choice between a state that respects civil liberties but is left potentially insecure or a state that must curb personal freedoms in order to be secure and protected. The term "structuralism" refers to a study of mental structures in society. President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an ‘axis of evil’ – making these countries the ‘them’ that were rhetorically and politically positioned as international pariahs in contrast to the innocent ‘us’ of the United States and its allies. Aishling Mc Morrow is a Lecturer in International Relations at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. How we receive information and the way that news events are presented to a society shapes how we conceptualise and react to political events. This messy entanglement of the everyday and the elite shows that a plethora of discourses can coexist and craft the view of international relations that we are offered. Poststructuralism doubts the possibility of attaining universal laws or truths as there is no world that exists independently of our own interpretations. One answer has been the identification of how this ‘good versus evil’ construct prepared and almost rallied the American public for war. How we receive information and the way that news events are presented to a society shapes how we conceptualise and react to political events. The pervasion of this discourse also served to conflate the motivations and acts of these terrorists with the construction of a wider Muslim and Arab society. 4.0 An Explanation of Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Post-Structuralism. Poststructural/postmodern international relations (IR) is a mode of critical thinking and analysis that joined disciplinary conversations during the 1980s and, despite the dismissive reception it has initially faced, it is a vibrant and expanding area of research within the field today. 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