Ontology and World Politics
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Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 ‘With a level of philosophical sophistication rarely found in the discipline of international relations, Sergei Prozorov’s texts issue challenges that no one interested in politics in general and global politics in particular should ignore.’ Michael J. Shapiro, University of Hawai’i Manoa, USA ‘Taken together, Ontology and World Politics and Theory of the Political Subject represent the most ambitious re-articulation of the ontological and ethical foundations of universalism to date by one of the most brilliant and provocative scholars of his generation. I can thus warmly recommend these volumes to anyone with an interest in cutting-edge international political theory.’ Jens Bartelson, Professor of Political Science, Lund University, Sweden ‘Drawing on a wide range of sources in political theory and philosophy, Prozorov develops a novel and ambitious defense of universalism. He does so not against, but through approaches that critique global models for their hegemonic and excluding nature. The result is a re-articulation of universalism that seeks to affi rm difference and plurality through concepts of community, equality and freedom.’ Roland Bleiker, Professor of International Relations, School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland, Australia Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 ONTOLOGY AND WORLD POLITICS Together these two companion volumes develop an innovative theory of world politics, grounded in the reinterpretation of the concepts of ‘world’ and ‘politics’ from an ontological perspective. In the discipline of international relations the concept of world politics remains ambivalent, functioning both as a synonym of international relations and its antonym, denoting the aspirations for overcoming interstate pluralism in favour of a universalist politics of the global community or the world state. Rather than distinguish ‘world politics’ from ‘international politics’ by its site, level or issues, Prozorov interprets it as another kind of politics. Drawing on Martin Heidegger’s account of world disclosure and Alain Badiou’s phenomenology of worlds, this book posits world politics as a practice of the affi rmation of universal axioms across an infi nite plurality of limited and particular situations or ‘worlds’. Prozorov reinterprets the familiar principles of community, equality and freedom in ontological terms as attributes of pure being, subtracted from all positive determinations, and presents them as axioms of universalist politics valid in any world whatsoever. This approach to world politics serves as the groundwork for a comprehensive reconsideration of Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 the central themes of political and international relations theory. Systematic and accessible, these works will be key reading for all students and scholars of political science and international relations. Sergei Prozorov is University Lecturer in World Politics at the University of Helsinki and Academy of Finland Research Fellow. He is the author of four books, the most recent being The Ethics of Postcommunism. He has also published numerous articles on political philosophy and international relations in major international journals. Interventions Edited by Jenny Edkins, Aberystwyth University and Nick Vaughan-Williams, University of Warwick As Michel Foucault has famously stated, ‘knowledge is not made for understanding; it is made for cutting’. In this spirit the Edkins–Vaughan-Williams Interventions series solicits cutting edge, critical works that challenge mainstream understandings in international relations. It is the best place to contribute post disciplinary works that think rather than merely recognize and affi rm the world recycled in IR’s traditional geopolitical imaginary. Michael J. Shapiro, University of Hawai’i at Mãnoa, US The series aims to advance understanding of the key areas in which scholars working within broad critical post-structural and post-colonial traditions have chosen to make their interventions, and to present innovative analyses of important topics. Titles in the series engage with critical thinkers in philosophy, sociology, politics and other disciplines and provide situated historical, empirical and textual studies in international politics. Critical Theorists and Universality, Ethics and Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 International Relations International Relations Edited by Jenny Edkins and A grammatical reading Nick Vaughan-Williams Véronique Pin-Fat Ethics as Foreign Policy The Time of the City Britain, the EU and the other Politics, philosophy, and genre Dan Bulley Michael J. Shapiro Governing Sustainable Beyond Biopolitics Development Theory, violence and horror in world Partnership, protest and power at the politics world summit François Debrix and Carl Death Alexander D. Barder Insuring Security The Politics of Speed Biopolitics, security and risk Capitalism, the state and war in an Luis Lobo-Guerrero accelerating world Simon Glezos Foucault and International Relations Politics and the Art of New critical engagements Commemoration Edited by Nicholas J. Kiersey and Memorials to struggle in Latin America Doug Stokes and Spain Katherine Hite International Relations and Non-Western Thought Indian Foreign Policy Imperialism, colonialism and The politics of postcolonial identity investigations of global modernity Priya Chacko Edited by Robbie Shilliam Politics of the Event Autobiographical International Time, movement, becoming Relations Tom Lundborg I, IR Edited by Naeem Inayatullah Theorising Post-Confl ict Reconciliation War and Rape Agonism, restitution and repair Law, memory and justice Edited by Alexander Keller Hirsch Nicola Henry Europe’s Encounter with Islam Madness in International Relations The secular and the postsecular Psychology, security and the global Luca Mavelli Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 governance of mental health Alison Howell Re-Thinking International Relations Theory via Spatiality, Sovereignty and Carl Deconstruction Schmitt Badredine Arfi Geographies of the nomos Edited by Stephen Legg The New Violent Cartography Geo-analysis after the aesthetic Politics of Urbanism turn Seeing like a city Edited by Sam Okoth Opondo and Warren Magnusson Michael J. Shapiro Insuring War The Politics of Exile Sovereignty, security and risk Elizabeth Dauphinee Luis Lobo-Guerrero Democratic Futures International Relations, Meaning Revisioning democracy promotion and Mimesis Milja Kurki Necati Polat Postcolonial Theory The Postcolonial Subject A critical introduction Claiming politics/governing others in Edited by Sanjay Seth late modernity Vivienne Jabri More than Just War Narratives of the just war and military life Foucault and the Politics of Hearing Charles A. Jones Lauri Siisiäinen Deleuze & Fascism Volunteer Tourism in the Global Security: war: aesthetics South Edited by Brad Evans and Julian Reid Giving back in neoliberal times Wanda Vrasti Feminist International Relations ‘Exquisite Corpse’ Cosmopolitan Government in Marysia Zalewski Europe Citizens and entrepreneurs in The Persistence of Nationalism postnational politics From imagined communities to urban Owen Parker encounters Angharad Closs Stephens Studies in the Trans-Disciplinary Method Interpretive Approaches to Global After the aesthetic turn Climate Governance Michael J. Shapiro Reconstructing the greenhouse Edited by Chris Methmann, Delf Rothe Alternative Accountabilities in and Benjamin Stephan Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 Global Politics The scars of violence Postcolonial Encounters with Brent J. Steele International Relations The politics of transgression Celebrity Humanitarianism Alina Sajed The ideology of global charity Ilan Kapoor Post-Tsunami Reconstruction in Indonesia Deconstructing International Negotiating normativity through gender Politics mainstreaming initiatives in Aceh Michael Dillon Marjaana Jauhola Leo Strauss and the Invasion of Writing Global Trade Governance Iraq Discourse and the WTO Encountering the Abyss Michael Strange Aggie Hirst Politics of Violence Production of Postcolonial India Militancy, international politics, killing and Pakistan in the name Meanings of partition Charlotte Heath-Kelly Ted Svensson Ontology and World Politics War, Identity and the Liberal Void universalism I State Sergei Prozorov Everyday experiences of the geopolitical in the armed forces Theory of the Political Subject Victoria M. Basham Void universalism II Sergei Prozorov Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 ONTOLOGY AND WORLD POLITICS Void universalism I Sergei Prozorov Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:54 24 May 2016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Croup LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Sergei Prozorov The right of Sergei Prozorov to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,