Reclaiming Utopia in International Relations
Problems and Prospects
Bristol University Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 23. November 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-5292-5761-8 (ISBN)
Description
Bringing together a diverse list of contributors from Europe, Australia and North America, this book challenges conventional wisdom about utopian thinking in International Relations. The volume demonstrates how utopian thinking has shaped a range of IR theories through its resolutely realistic focus on pressing political crises.
This essential collection shows utopia's empirical significance in world politics by offering fresh perspectives on revolutionary movements, racial imaginaries, technocratic expertise and global climate change, among other issues. It is a vital intervention that reshapes disciplinary understanding and establishes new research directions for scholars examining the pasts and futures of world politics.
This essential collection shows utopia's empirical significance in world politics by offering fresh perspectives on revolutionary movements, racial imaginaries, technocratic expertise and global climate change, among other issues. It is a vital intervention that reshapes disciplinary understanding and establishes new research directions for scholars examining the pasts and futures of world politics.
Reviews / Votes
"A gem of a book. Sidestepping entrenched dichotomies in mainstream IR scholarship, this edited volume opens up space for a genuinely interdisciplinary conversation around utopian thought and practice in international affairs. The individual chapters resonate productively with each other and cover a wide range of important topics, from methodological questions to issues of race, gender and technology. Not only students and scholars of IR, but readers from various academic backgrounds in the humanities and social sciences, will have a great deal to learn from this excellent and timely book.." Mathias Thaler, University of Edinburgh "At a time when claims of a renewed realism are all the rage in world politics and foreign policy, this superb collection provides a compelling reexamination of utopia and its indispensable contribution to thinking creatively about world politics." Michael C Williams, University of OttawaMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
1 s/w Tabelle
1 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5292-5761-8 (9781529257618)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Daniel R. McCarthy is Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Matthew Fluck is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and co-leader of the Politics and IR undergraduate programme at the University of Westminster, UK.
Matthew Fluck is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and co-leader of the Politics and IR undergraduate programme at the University of Westminster, UK.
Content
Introduction
1. Utopia and Utopianism in International Relations - Matthew Fluck and Daniel R. McCarthy
Part I: Utopia and International Relations Theory
2. Realism and Utopianism: Enemies or Frenemies? - William E. Scheuerman
3. Fearing Utopia: Judith Shklar and the Ambivalence Towards Utopia in Liberal IR Theory - Kamilla Stullerova
4. Feminist Utopias and Pragmatic Hope: Social Imagining As Utopian Production - Marija Antanaviciute
5. Utopia and Critical Theory: Towards an Open-Ended Dialectical Utopianism - Shannon Brincat, Emma Christie and Jonato Luciano dos Santos
6. Rigorous Fictions, Unrealistic Counter-Factuals, and the Problem of Utopian Methods in IR - Daniel R. McCarthy
Part II: The Pasts and Futures of Utopian Practices in IR
7. On Racial Utopianism - Duncan Bell
8. The Rise and Fall of Technocratic Utopias of Global Governance - Jens Steffek
9. Revolutionary Utopias - Catherine Hirst and George Lawson
10. Literary Utopias, Utopian Enclaves, and Utopian International Thought - Matthew Fluck
11. Utopia As Critique and Practice in the Anthropocene - Aysem Mert and Laura Horn
12. Orbita As Utopia: Astrospheric Infrastructure and World Orders - Daniel Deudney
Conclusion
13. Reclaiming Utopia for the Future of International Relations - Daniel R. McCarthy and Matthew Fluck
1. Utopia and Utopianism in International Relations - Matthew Fluck and Daniel R. McCarthy
Part I: Utopia and International Relations Theory
2. Realism and Utopianism: Enemies or Frenemies? - William E. Scheuerman
3. Fearing Utopia: Judith Shklar and the Ambivalence Towards Utopia in Liberal IR Theory - Kamilla Stullerova
4. Feminist Utopias and Pragmatic Hope: Social Imagining As Utopian Production - Marija Antanaviciute
5. Utopia and Critical Theory: Towards an Open-Ended Dialectical Utopianism - Shannon Brincat, Emma Christie and Jonato Luciano dos Santos
6. Rigorous Fictions, Unrealistic Counter-Factuals, and the Problem of Utopian Methods in IR - Daniel R. McCarthy
Part II: The Pasts and Futures of Utopian Practices in IR
7. On Racial Utopianism - Duncan Bell
8. The Rise and Fall of Technocratic Utopias of Global Governance - Jens Steffek
9. Revolutionary Utopias - Catherine Hirst and George Lawson
10. Literary Utopias, Utopian Enclaves, and Utopian International Thought - Matthew Fluck
11. Utopia As Critique and Practice in the Anthropocene - Aysem Mert and Laura Horn
12. Orbita As Utopia: Astrospheric Infrastructure and World Orders - Daniel Deudney
Conclusion
13. Reclaiming Utopia for the Future of International Relations - Daniel R. McCarthy and Matthew Fluck