Unsatisfied with critical responses to Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations?" this
dissertation attempts to trace two central elements of his argument. First, "On
Barbarians" traces the evolution of the civilized/ barbarian dichotomy from its origins in
the nineteenth century to its recent incarnations in International Relations theory. The
relevance of Europe's imperial heritage is emphasized, along with certain thematic
threads in popular discourse: demography, surveillance, and the distinction between
popular and elite culture. The ubiquitous self/other dichotomy, which is central to
political identity, has been understood in European imperial discourse to mean European
civilization and barbaric others. This rhetoric remains powerful, even in current IR
discourse. By reinscribing this civilized/barbarian dichotomy, Huntington in effect uses
International Relations theory as a form of identity politics. Second, this dissertation
analyzes the presence of culture and identity in the discipline of International Relations
theory. Despite specific empirical considerations, Huntington's underlying interest in
culture and identity is well-founded, which this dissertation attempts to demonstrate using
material from the history of International Relations, post-colonial, and critical theorists.
In sum, "On Barbarians" illustrates the critical benefit of studying culture and identity to
LR through a critical examination of the civilized/barbarian discourse.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10090 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Salter, Mark B. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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