In or Out? Experiential Learning and Three Consequences of Communicating Group Identity

Group identity is intimately tied with self identity. Yet, people often understand their identity as individual without appreciation for the role others play in their identity. Based on social identity theory this article highlights the role that group identity plays in self identity and explores three consequences of this association. Case studies present first-hand experience with the consequences of communicating group identity. These case studies also demonstrate the value of a specific class project undertaken to provide students with a meaningful understanding of these issues

Russia and Carl Schmitt: the hybridity of resistance in the globalised world

The rise of state dissidence has challenged the hegemony of Western liberalism on the international relations stage. Russia’s ongoing involvement in the Ukraine crisis is a case in point. Russia’s dissidence threatens not only the already fragile European order, but also the potency of liberalism as a system of international norms. Hence, a great deal of attention has been given to trying to determine the possible failures and solutions of global governance in dealing with Russia. In contrast, this article argues for the need to understand state resistance from the perspective of the dissenting state. By drawing upon Carl Schmitt’s influential critique of globalizing liberalism, the article attempts to analyse what Russia’s resistance reveals about the subtle mechanisms of global liberal governance. On the basis of Schmitt’s theory, the article establishes that Russia’s dissidence can be an attempt to preserve state sovereignty and its unique “way of life”, as well as state pluralism on the global arena. In fact, to eradicate conflict, liberal governance attempts to suppress state pluralism as a potential cause of conflict. In the long run, however, this risks provoking radical resistance in response. The article then analyses the “hybrid” strategy of Russia’s resistance employed in the Ukraine crisis, based on which it identifies the major weaknesses of liberal governance. The article concludes that the inadequacy of international law to deal with unconventional forms of warfare and refusal to acknowledge the possibility of animosity can significantly debilitate liberal governance. This article is published as part of a collection on global governance

The Role of Chernobyl in the Breakdown of the USSR

About the author: Bohdana Kurylo will be graduating from the University of London in June 2016 with a BA (Hons) in History and Politics degree. Her scholarly interests include philosophy, political theory and history of philosophy

The discourse and aesthetics of populism as securitisation style

Populists have lately been at the forefront of securitisation processes, yet little attention has been paid to the relationship between populism and securitisation. This paper investigates the role of securitisation in populism, exploring how the populist mode of securitising differs from traditional securitisation processes. It argues that securitisation is inherently embedded in populism which embodies a particular style of securitisation with a distinct set of discursive and aesthetic repertoires. The populist invocation of societal security and their claim to defend the fundamentally precarious identity of ‘the endangered people’ necessitate an unceasing construction of new threats. Aiming to discredit ‘elitist’ securitisation processes, populism invests in a specific construction of the referent object, the securitising actor and their relationship to the audience. The populist securitising style also carries a distinctive aesthetic centred on ‘poor taste’, sentimental ordinariness and unprofessionalism, examining which can widen our understanding of the aesthetics of security

Emergency: A Vernacular Contextual Approach

Security scholars have traditionally viewed emergency as a state of exception that triggers a struggle for survival, justifying the breaking of rules and excesses of state power. While there have been attempts to decouple security from its survivalist logic, emergency has remained an analytical blind spot in security studies. The dominance of an elite-centric, exceptionalist paradigm in the study of emergency has foreclosed the possibility of alternative conceptions of emergency and neglected the voices of structurally disempowered agents. This paper advances a vernacular contextual research agenda that is sensitive to the empirical diversity of emergency meanings and practices while foregrounding emergency claims made by non-elite actors. Challenging the idea of emergency as a form of “anti-politics,” the paper contends that emergency should be understood as an intrinsic part of politics. It then recovers an alternative, “emancipatory” conception of emergency as an extraordinary moment of spontaneous beginnings that can activate the collective agency of marginalized actors. The final section establishes conceptual foundations for actor-centered, grounded empirical research into emergency politics and suggests avenues for future research. Contextualizing emergency and attuning to the voices and experiences of everyday actors are crucial to remove the key variable that ties security to the logic of survival and exception. Los académicos que se dedican al estudio de la seguridad han considerado, tradicionalmente, las emergencias como un estado de excepción que desencadena una lucha por la supervivencia, que justifica la ruptura de las normas y los excesos del poder por parte del Estado. Si bien ha habido intentos de desvincular la seguridad de su lógica de supervivencia, las emergencias siguen siendo un punto ciego analítico de los estudios en materia de seguridad. El predominio de un paradigma excepcionalista y centrado en las élites en el estudio de las emergencias ha excluido la posibilidad de concepciones alternativas de las mismas y ha dejado de lado las voces de los agentes estructuralmente no empoderados. Este artículo propone una agenda de investigación contextual vernácula que es sensible a la diversidad empírica de los significados y las prácticas de emergencia, al tiempo que pone en primer plano las reclamaciones de emergencia realizadas por actores no elitistas. Desafiando la idea de las emergencias como una forma de «antipolítica», el artículo sostiene que las emergencias deben entenderse como una parte intrínseca de la política. A continuación, recupera una concepción alternativa y «emancipadora» de las emergencias como momentos extraordinarios de comienzos espontáneos que pueden activar la acción colectiva de los actores marginados. La última sección establece las bases conceptuales para una investigación empírica fundamentada, centrada en los actores, sobre la política de emergencia y sugiere vías para futuras investigaciones. Contextualizar las emergencias y sintonizar con las voces y experiencias de los actores cotidianos es fundamental para eliminar la variable clave que vincula la seguridad a la lógica de la supervivencia y la excepción. Traditionnellement, les chercheur·euses spécialisé·es sur les questions de sécurité considèrent l'urgence comme un état d'exception, générant une lutte pour la survie et justifiant le non-respect des règles et l'abus de pouvoir étatique. S'il y a bien eu des tentatives pour dissocier la notion de sécurité de cette logique survivaliste, l'urgence demeure un angle mort analytique dans les travaux de recherche. Il est certain que la prédominance d'un paradigme exceptionnaliste, centré sur le point de vue d'une élite, a entravé toute possibilité de proposer des conceptions alternatives de l'urgence, et a négligé les voix d'individus structurellement tenus à l’écart du pouvoir. Cet article propose un programme de recherche contextuel et vernaculaire, attentif à la diversité empirique des perceptions et pratiques associées à la notion d'urgence, mettant en avant les positions d'individus situés en dehors des cercles d’élite. Contestant la perception de l'urgence comme un état « anti-politique », cet article défend au contraire sa nature intrinsèquement politique. Il propose une conception alternative et émancipatrice de l'urgence en tant que moment extraordinaire, générateur de mouvements spontanés capables d'activer la capacité d'action collective d'acteur·ices marginalisé·es. La dernière section définit des bases conceptuelles pour une recherche empirique, axée sur le terrain et ses acteur·ices, et propose des pistes pour de futurs travaux sur les politiques sécuritaires. La contextualisation de l'urgence et l'attention portée aux voix et expériences des personnes impliquées au quotidien sont essentielles pour dépasser la tendance prédominante consistant à associer la notion de sécurité à une logique de survie et d'exception

Counter-populist performances of (in)security: Feminist resistance in the face of right-wing populism in Poland

IR scholarship has recently seen a burgeoning interest in the right-wing populist politics of security, showing that it tends to align with the international ultraconservative mobilisation against 'gender ideology'. In contrast, this article investigates how local feminist actors can resist right-wing populist constructions of (in)security by introducing counter-populist discourses and aesthetics of security. I analyse the case of Poland, which presents two competing populist performances of (in)security: the Independence March organised by right-wing groups on Poland's Independence Day and the Women's Strike protests against the near-total ban on abortion. The article draws on Judith Butler's theory of the performative politics of public assembly, which elucidates how the political subject of 'the people' can emerge as bodies come together to make security demands through both verbal and non-verbal acts. I argue that the feminist movement used the vehicle of populist performance to subvert the exclusionary constructions of (in)security by right-wing populists. In the process, it introduced a different conception of security in the struggle for a 'livable life'. The study expands the understanding of the relationship between populism, security and feminism in IR by exploring how the populist politics of security is differently enacted by everyday agents in local contexts