Practice theory and the study of diplomacy: A research agenda:
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the multiple synergies between international practice theory and diplomatic studies and suggest what a practice theory of diplomacy may look like, discussing a variety of existing works through their common objective to explain the constitution of world politics in and through practice.
Abstract: This introductory article explores the multiple synergies between international practice theory and diplomatic studies. The timing for this cross-fertilizing exchange could not be better, as the study of diplomacy enters a phase of theorization while practice scholars look to confront the approach to new empirical and analytical challenges. The article first defines diplomacy as a historically and culturally contingent bundle of practices that are analytically alike in their claim to represent a given polity to the outside world. Then the key analytical wagers that practice theory makes are introduced, and debates currently raging in the discipline are briefly reviewed. Next, it is suggested what a practice theory of diplomacy may look like, discussing a variety of existing works through their common objective to explain the constitution of world politics in and through practice. Finally, a few research avenues to foster the dialogue between diplomatic studies and practice theory are outlined, centered on...
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17 Mar 2016TL;DR: Pouliot as mentioned in this paper argues that diplomacy produces inequality and argues that pecking orders are eminently complex social forms: contingent yet durable; constraining but also full of agency; operating at different levels, depending on issues; and defined in significant part locally, in and through the practice of multilateral diplomacy.
Abstract: In any multilateral setting, some state representatives weigh much more heavily than others. Practitioners often refer to this form of diplomatic hierarchy as the 'international pecking order'. This book is a study of international hierarchy in practice, as it emerges out of the multilateral diplomatic process. Building on the social theories of Erving Goffman and Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that diplomacy produces inequality. Delving into the politics and inner dynamics of NATO and the UN as case studies, Vincent Pouliot shows that pecking orders are eminently complex social forms: contingent yet durable; constraining but also full of agency; operating at different levels, depending on issues; and defined in significant part locally, in and through the practice of multilateral diplomacy.
160 citations
TL;DR: The conduct of inquiry in international relations has been studied extensively in the literature, see as discussed by the authors for an overview. But this work is limited to the case of international relations, see, e.g.,
Abstract: (2012). The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations. Journal of Critical Realism: Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 532-534.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors build on the practice turn's welcome move to redirect our attention to the unconscious habitual practices that constitute most of daily social life, including in world politics.
Abstract: This article builds on the practice turn’s welcome move to redirect our attention to the unconscious habitual practices that constitute most of daily social life, including in world politics. Since...
89 citations
Cites background from "Practice theory and the study of di..."
...See also Doty, 1997; Pouliot and Cornut, 2015)....
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Book•
08 Mar 2018TL;DR: Holmes as mentioned in this paper argues that dismissing face-to-face diplomacy is in stark contrast to what leaders and policy makers deem as essential and that this view is rooted in a particular set of assumptions that see an individual's intentions as fundamentally inaccessible.
Abstract: Face-to-face diplomacy has long been the lynchpin of world politics, yet it is largely dismissed by scholars of International Relations as unimportant. Marcus Holmes argues that dismissing this type of diplomacy is in stark contrast to what leaders and policy makers deem as essential and that this view is rooted in a particular set of assumptions that see an individual's intentions as fundamentally inaccessible. Building on recent evidence from social neuroscience and psychology, Holmes argues that this assumption is problematic. Marcus Holmes studies some of the most important moments of diplomacy in the twentieth century, from 'Munich' to the end of the Cold War, and by showing how face-to-face interactions allowed leaders to either reassure each other of benign defensive intentions or pick up on offensive intentions, his book challenges the notion that intentions are fundamentally unknowable in international politics, a central idea in IR theory.
60 citations
TL;DR: This article analyzed the emotional dynamics of Twitter, illustrating how emotion is implicated in the power of this social media platform and argued that Twitter can both represent emotions and provoke emotions, which can play an important role in the escalation or de-escalation of conflict.
Abstract: Social media is becoming a key medium through which we communicate with each other: it is at the center of the very structures of our daily interactions. Yet this infiltration is not unique to interpersonal relations. Political leaders, governments, and states operate within this social media environment, wherein they continually address crises and institute damage control through platforms such as Twitter. A question arises here as to what the turn to Twitter means for conventional structures of power and different levels of communication. This article analyses the emotional dynamics of Twitter, illustrating how emotion is implicated in the power of this social media platform. I argue that Twitter can both represent emotions and provoke emotions, which can play an important role in the escalation or de-escalation of conflict. The emotional conditions Twitter facilitates are implicated in how shifts in temporality and functionality of communication have shaped political discourse so significantly.
56 citations
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01 Jan 1960
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a theory of interdependent decision based on the Retarded Science of International Strategy (RSIS) for non-cooperative games and a solution concept for "noncooperative" games.
Abstract: I. Elements of a Theory of Strategy 1. The Retarded Science of International Strategy 2. An Essay on Bargaining 3. Bargaining, Communication, and Limited War II. A Reorientation of Game Theory 4. Toward a Theory of Interdependent Decision 5. Enforcement, Communication, and Strategic Moves 6. Game Theory and Experimental Research III. Strategy with a Random Ingredient 7. Randomization of Promises and Threats 8. The Threat That Leaves Something to Chance IV. Surprise Attack: A Study in Mutual Distrust 9. The Reciprocal Fear of Surprise Attack 10. Surprise Attack and Disarmament Appendices A. Nuclear Weapons and Limited War B. For the Abandonment of Symmetry in Game Theory C. Re-interpretation of a Solution Concept for "Noncooperative" Games Index
7,845 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a theory of ratification in the context of domestic political games and international political games, which is applicable to many other political phenomena, such as dependency, legislative committees, and multiparty coalitions.
Abstract: Domestic politics and international relations are often inextricably entangled, but existing theories (particularly “state-centric” theories) do not adequately account for these linkages. When national leaders must win ratification (formal or informal) from their constituents for an international agreement, their negotiating behavior reflects the simultaneous imperatives of both a domestic political game and an international game. Using illustrations from Western economic summitry, the Panama Canal and Versailles Treaty negotiations, IMF stabilization programs, the European Community, and many other diplomatic contexts, this article offers a theory of ratification. It addresses the role of domestic preferences and coalitions, domestic political institutions and practices, the strategies and tactics of negotiators, uncertainty, the domestic reverberation of international pressures, and the interests of the chief negotiator. This theory of “two-level games” may also be applicable to many other political phenomena, such as dependency, legislative committees, and multiparty coalitions.
6,155 citations
"Practice theory and the study of di..." refers background in this paper
...This line of argument, it should be noted, is far from antithetical to those rationalist works that grant some explanatory significance to the diplomatic process itself (e.g. Putnam, 1988; Schelling, 1960)....
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...‘Two-level games’ and bargaining around ‘focal points’ (Putnam, 1988; Schelling, 1960) involve skills and background knowledge that serve as the seat of rationality....
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5,247 citations
"Practice theory and the study of di..." refers background in this paper
...This line of argument, it should be noted, is far from antithetical to those rationalist works that grant some explanatory significance to the diplomatic process itself (e.g. Putnam, 1988; Schelling, 1960)....
[...]
...‘Two-level games’ and bargaining around ‘focal points’ (Putnam, 1988; Schelling, 1960) involve skills and background knowledge that serve as the seat of rationality....
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Book•
16 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a method to improve the quality of the information provided by the user by using the information of the user's interaction with the service provider and the user.
Abstract: Сборник ведущих социологов и социальных теоретиков из США и Западной Европы, представляющих новую практическую парадигму, своего рода коллективный манифест прагматического поворота. Авторы позиционируют практическую парадигму относительно структурализма, герменевтики, семиотики. В книге обсуждается природа практического и неявного знания, навыков и практик, которые составляют фон социального порядка и поддерживают общую для любого коллектива систему смыслов.
3,344 citations
TL;DR: The Legitimacy of an Expanding Global Bureaucracy as discussed by the authors is an example of such an expansion of global bureaucracies, and it has been studied extensively in the literature.
Abstract: 1. Bureaucratizing World Politics2. International Organizations as Bureaucracies3. Expertise and Power at the International Monetary Fund4. Defining Refugees and Voluntary Repatriation at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees5. Genocide and the Peacekeeping Culture at the United Nations6. The Legitimacy of an Expanding Global BureaucracyList of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index
1,766 citations
"Practice theory and the study of di..." refers background in this paper
...Closer to the present, constructivists have also illuminated various social processes on the world stage, including socialization (Checkel, 2005), social influence (Johnston, 2001), rhetorical entrapment (Schimmelfennig, 2001) or organizational cultures (Barnett and Finnemore, 2004)....
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...Second, the papers in this special issue illustrate similarities and differences between practice theory and the organizational process model of analysis (Allison and Zelikow, 1999; see also the application of organization theory in Barnett and Finnemore, 2004)....
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