| ID | 155149 |
| Title Proper | critical-sympathetic introduction to Linklater’s odyssey |
| Other Title Information | bridge over troubled (Eurocentric?) water |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Hobson, John M |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article provides an ‘engaged’ introduction to this forum on Andrew Linklater’s recently published book, Violence and Civilization in the Western States-Systems. I call this ‘engaged’ because I seek to adjudicate between the critics and Linklater’s book in the hope of building a bridge over troubled water. Given that the key word that underpins many of this forum’s contributions is Eurocentrism, I explore whether, and if so to what extent, Linklater’s book is Eurocentric. While I too identify various Eurocentric cues, I also provide various defences for Linklater. In particular, the final section advances two definitions of Eurocentrism and anti-Eurocentrism. Although I identify elements of ‘Eurocentrism I’ (the elision of non-Western agency and reification of the West) in his book, Linklater might respond to the principal forum complaint that he accords little or no role to non-Western actors and processes in the Western or global civilizing process by appealing to an alternative anti-Eurocentric approach: ‘anti-Eurocentrism II’ (which focuses squarely on Western imperial power and ignores or heavily downplays non-Western agency). I close by critiquing his left-liberal cosmopolitan politics, arguing that his Eurocentric-universalist normative posture cannot create the kind of peaceful and harmonious world that he (and Kant) so desires. |
| `In' analytical Note | Review of International Studies Vol. 43, No.4; Oct 2017: p.581-601 |
| Journal Source | Review of International Studies Vol: 43 No 4 |
| Key Words | Cosmopolitanism ; Eurocentrism ; English School ; Historical Sociology ; Eliasian ; Civilizing Process ; Civilization/Barbarism |