Capitalism and 'the International': A Historical Approach (original) (raw)

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of recent Historical International Relations (IR) literature that transcends several limitations associated with the study of capitalism in ‘traditional’ IR. First, it critically reviews existing definitions of capitalism that were refined and adopted by canonical IR theories from the classical works of Smith, Weber, and mercantilist thinkers like Antoyne de Montchrétien, while comparing them to the more radically historicist approach of Marx. Second, it juxtaposes these perspectives against more recent IR works that uncover the ‘international’ dimensions of the origins of capitalism and highlight the variegated historical forms capitalist development has taken. Furthermore, the chapter highlights the ahistorical tendency in traditional IR of associating capitalism with certain perennial features (such as markets, commerce, and private property), whilst excluding from analysis other ostensibly ‘external’, but nonetheless constitutive features of historical capitalism, such as the continual search for social control and pacification, and the violent practices these processes often entail. In so doing, the chapter reviews several avenues of inquiry that engage with these constitutive characteristics of capitalist development and explore how gendered, racist, and other exclusionary practices have been historically used to legitimize the imposition and reproduction of capitalist social relations. In conclusion, the chapter outlines additional avenues for future research that reconnect the aforementioned themes of history-writing and ‘the international’ to capitalist modernity's distinctive ‘regime of historicity’.

Key takeaways

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  1. The text critiques traditional International Relations (IR) for neglecting capitalism's historical complexity.
  2. It explores capitalism's variegated forms, contrasting classic theorists like Smith and Marx with contemporary views.
  3. The chapter emphasizes the role of race and gender in legitimizing capitalist social relations.
  4. It advocates for integrating historical context into capitalism's definitions and origins in IR scholarship.
  5. Future research should reconnect history-writing with capitalist modernity's unique 'regime of historicity'.

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