Interrogating whiteness in international relations: critical examinations of race and racialised power

James Blackwell; Charlotte Carney; Keshab Giri; Davina Nair; Kate Scott; Laura  Shepherd

doi:10.1057/s41311-024-00632-2

Interrogating whiteness in international relations: critical examinations of race and racialised power

James Blackwell, Charlotte Carney, Keshab Giri, Davina Nair, Kate Scott, Laura Shepherd^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of International Relations

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

The dynamics of knowledge production in the discipline of international relations (IR) frequently reproduce problematic and outdated idea(l)s about what counts as ‘proper’ scholarship, with positivist research setting the standard for legitimacy. This essay challenges the racialised hierarchies that reproduce unreflective endorsement of these (white, Western) ‘standards’ of knowledge production. Our review begins with an elaboration of epistemic whiteness as the foundation for a critical examination of race and racialised power in the discipline. We provide a timely and necessary review of the dynamics of racialised power in IR to expand the parameters of debates about race, racism, and coloniality. We introduce the concepts of Indigeneity and intersectionality as tools we can use to destabilise whiteness in the discipline. We conclude our discussion by showing how these two concepts can enable potentially transformative re-imaginings of IR, as we hope to foster new and plural ways of thinking world politics otherwise.

Original language	English
Number of pages	22
Journal	International Politics
Early online date	28 Oct 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-024-00632-2
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 28 Oct 2024

Keywords

Whiteness
Race
Racism
Indigeneity
Decoloniality
Intersectionality

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Cite this

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abstract = "The dynamics of knowledge production in the discipline of international relations (IR) frequently reproduce problematic and outdated idea(l)s about what counts as {\textquoteleft}proper{\textquoteright} scholarship, with positivist research setting the standard for legitimacy. This essay challenges the racialised hierarchies that reproduce unreflective endorsement of these (white, Western) {\textquoteleft}standards{\textquoteright} of knowledge production. Our review begins with an elaboration of epistemic whiteness as the foundation for a critical examination of race and racialised power in the discipline. We provide a timely and necessary review of the dynamics of racialised power in IR to expand the parameters of debates about race, racism, and coloniality. We introduce the concepts of Indigeneity and intersectionality as tools we can use to destabilise whiteness in the discipline. We conclude our discussion by showing how these two concepts can enable potentially transformative re-imaginings of IR, as we hope to foster new and plural ways of thinking world politics otherwise.",

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AU - Carney, Charlotte

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AU - Nair, Davina

AU - Scott, Kate

AU - Shepherd, Laura

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AB - The dynamics of knowledge production in the discipline of international relations (IR) frequently reproduce problematic and outdated idea(l)s about what counts as ‘proper’ scholarship, with positivist research setting the standard for legitimacy. This essay challenges the racialised hierarchies that reproduce unreflective endorsement of these (white, Western) ‘standards’ of knowledge production. Our review begins with an elaboration of epistemic whiteness as the foundation for a critical examination of race and racialised power in the discipline. We provide a timely and necessary review of the dynamics of racialised power in IR to expand the parameters of debates about race, racism, and coloniality. We introduce the concepts of Indigeneity and intersectionality as tools we can use to destabilise whiteness in the discipline. We conclude our discussion by showing how these two concepts can enable potentially transformative re-imaginings of IR, as we hope to foster new and plural ways of thinking world politics otherwise.

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KW - Race

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KW - Indigeneity

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Interrogating whiteness in international relations: critical examinations of race and racialised power

Abstract

Keywords

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