Hans-Martin Jaeger | Carleton University (original) (raw)

Papers by Hans-Martin Jaeger

Early Wendtian and Habermasian constructivism in IR displayed a number of traits that were incons... more Early Wendtian and Habermasian constructivism in IR displayed a number of traits that were inconsistent with constructivist sociological theory. These included state-centrism and actorhood, a voluntarist and intentionalist conception of agency, the limited focus on the problems of anarchy and cooperation, a partial insistence on causal models, a conception of the problem of order in terms of normative integration, the dissociation of norms and power, and the lack of a theory of socialisation (accounting for the formation of identities and interests). Focusing on Wendt's seminal Social Theory of International Politics as well as exemplary formulations of Habermasian constructivism, this paper examines to extent which these early constructional defects of mainstream constructivism in IR were fixed or persist in its mature formulations. The conclusion of the paper reflects on broader challenges to (and opportunities for) constructivism deriving from a changing disciplinary and political context. Where early constructivist scholarship largely wrestled with the neo-neo synthesis and the political context of the end of the Cold War, contemporary constructivist scholarship is well advised to engage with the practice (and material) turns and to address postcolonial challenges and the reality of a post-Western world.

adds his voice to a growing literature exploring the implications of Foucault's concept of govern... more adds his voice to a growing literature exploring the implications of Foucault's concept of governmentality for political studies. Joseph draws on the governmentality analytic as a 'critical theory' (p. 6) to examine contemporary social and political theories of the global as well as practical approaches to governance in international institutions. He makes two arguments. First, rather than providing convincing (let alone critical) accounts of the present, theories of globalisation, global governance and global civil society (Chapter 3), networks and social capital (Chapter 4) and reflexivity and risk (Chapter 5) effectively align with neoliberal political strategies and governmentalities, and thereby naturalise and reproduce the very phenomena they analyse. Second and related, key tenets of these theories inform the governance agendas of international organisations like the European Union (EU) and the World Bank, albeit with different effects. Whereas neoliberal governmentality aiming at rational, responsible and entrepreneurial conduct and the well-being of populations finds a quasi-natural habitat in the 'advanced liberal societies' of the EU (Chapter 6), in the developing countries targeted by the World Bank it rather serves as a disciplining device for governments without genuinely advancing the population (Chapter 7).

Commentary on the United Nations (UN) reform efforts of 2004-05 has broadly followed two differen... more Commentary on the United Nations (UN) reform efforts of 2004-05 has broadly followed two different trajectories. International lawyers and political theorists have focused on the implications of reform for sovereignty as a fundamental principle of international law and international relations. International Relations (IR) scholars have discussed reform focusing on state power and the UN's institutional authority. Against the background of these debates and drawing on Foucault's political theory and related IR scholarship, this article argues that UN reform discourse indicates a biopolitical 'reprogramming' of contemporary sovereignty and global governance. The analysis 'displaces' the concerns with sovereignty, state power, and institutional authority by demonstrating that UN reform (also) constitutes the UN as a project of managing and regulating the global population through a variety of securitizing, economizing, and normalizing rationalities and techniques. The article illustrates this by pointing to the biopolitical rationales of reform conceptions of human security and collective security, and to (neo)liberal governmentalities of risk and responsibility, contractualism, benchmarking, and networks. It thereby challenges the conceptual and normative priority accorded to juridical sovereignty in international law, and to state-and institution-centric accounts in IR theorizations of UN-relayed global governance.

Qualifying a realist interpretation, this essay argues that the dialectical involvement of the st... more Qualifying a realist interpretation, this essay argues that the dialectical involvement of the state as an individual with its external relations exposes international politics as a matter of both anarchy and war, and mutual recognition and practical morality among states in Hegel's theory of international relations. With the absolute distinction between internal community and external anarchy removed, Hegel's account of civil society becomes relevant to his theory of international relations. Both as an analogy and concretely, it provides indications for a partial transcendence of sovereign statehood and international anarchy by institutionalised co-operation and political (self-)regulation in a transnationalising civil society.

Edited Books by Hans-Martin Jaeger

Early Wendtian and Habermasian constructivism in IR displayed a number of traits that were incons... more Early Wendtian and Habermasian constructivism in IR displayed a number of traits that were inconsistent with constructivist sociological theory. These included state-centrism and actorhood, a voluntarist and intentionalist conception of agency, the limited focus on the problems of anarchy and cooperation, a partial insistence on causal models, a conception of the problem of order in terms of normative integration, the dissociation of norms and power, and the lack of a theory of socialisation (accounting for the formation of identities and interests). Focusing on Wendt's seminal Social Theory of International Politics as well as exemplary formulations of Habermasian constructivism, this paper examines to extent which these early constructional defects of mainstream constructivism in IR were fixed or persist in its mature formulations. The conclusion of the paper reflects on broader challenges to (and opportunities for) constructivism deriving from a changing disciplinary and political context. Where early constructivist scholarship largely wrestled with the neo-neo synthesis and the political context of the end of the Cold War, contemporary constructivist scholarship is well advised to engage with the practice (and material) turns and to address postcolonial challenges and the reality of a post-Western world.

adds his voice to a growing literature exploring the implications of Foucault's concept of govern... more adds his voice to a growing literature exploring the implications of Foucault's concept of governmentality for political studies. Joseph draws on the governmentality analytic as a 'critical theory' (p. 6) to examine contemporary social and political theories of the global as well as practical approaches to governance in international institutions. He makes two arguments. First, rather than providing convincing (let alone critical) accounts of the present, theories of globalisation, global governance and global civil society (Chapter 3), networks and social capital (Chapter 4) and reflexivity and risk (Chapter 5) effectively align with neoliberal political strategies and governmentalities, and thereby naturalise and reproduce the very phenomena they analyse. Second and related, key tenets of these theories inform the governance agendas of international organisations like the European Union (EU) and the World Bank, albeit with different effects. Whereas neoliberal governmentality aiming at rational, responsible and entrepreneurial conduct and the well-being of populations finds a quasi-natural habitat in the 'advanced liberal societies' of the EU (Chapter 6), in the developing countries targeted by the World Bank it rather serves as a disciplining device for governments without genuinely advancing the population (Chapter 7).

Commentary on the United Nations (UN) reform efforts of 2004-05 has broadly followed two differen... more Commentary on the United Nations (UN) reform efforts of 2004-05 has broadly followed two different trajectories. International lawyers and political theorists have focused on the implications of reform for sovereignty as a fundamental principle of international law and international relations. International Relations (IR) scholars have discussed reform focusing on state power and the UN's institutional authority. Against the background of these debates and drawing on Foucault's political theory and related IR scholarship, this article argues that UN reform discourse indicates a biopolitical 'reprogramming' of contemporary sovereignty and global governance. The analysis 'displaces' the concerns with sovereignty, state power, and institutional authority by demonstrating that UN reform (also) constitutes the UN as a project of managing and regulating the global population through a variety of securitizing, economizing, and normalizing rationalities and techniques. The article illustrates this by pointing to the biopolitical rationales of reform conceptions of human security and collective security, and to (neo)liberal governmentalities of risk and responsibility, contractualism, benchmarking, and networks. It thereby challenges the conceptual and normative priority accorded to juridical sovereignty in international law, and to state-and institution-centric accounts in IR theorizations of UN-relayed global governance.

Qualifying a realist interpretation, this essay argues that the dialectical involvement of the st... more Qualifying a realist interpretation, this essay argues that the dialectical involvement of the state as an individual with its external relations exposes international politics as a matter of both anarchy and war, and mutual recognition and practical morality among states in Hegel's theory of international relations. With the absolute distinction between internal community and external anarchy removed, Hegel's account of civil society becomes relevant to his theory of international relations. Both as an analogy and concretely, it provides indications for a partial transcendence of sovereign statehood and international anarchy by institutionalised co-operation and political (self-)regulation in a transnationalising civil society.