Hobson, J.M. (2016) The lacuna of capital, the state and war? The lost global history and theory of Eastern agency. International Politics, 53 (5). pp. 600-617. ISSN 1384-5748
Abstract
In this article I seek to constructively engage Alex Anievas’s seminal book that is deservedly the subject of this forum. For Anievas has become a key figure in the revival of Trotskyism in IR and his is one of the first book-length treatments of the New Trotskyist theory of the international. My critique is meant merely as a constructive effort to push his excellent scholarship further in terms of developing his non-Eurocentric approach. In the first section I argue that his book represents a giant leap forward for the New Trotskyist IR. However, in the following sections I argue that although undeniably a brave attempt nevertheless, in the last instance, Anievas falls a few steps short in realising a genuinely non-Eurocentric account of world politics. This is because while he certainly restores or brings in ‘the lost theory and history of IR’ that elevates class forces to a central role in shaping world politics, nevertheless he fails to bring in ‘the lost global theory and history of Eastern agency’ that constitutes, in my view, the key ingredient of a non-Eurocentric approach to world politics. I also argue that while his anti-reductionist ontological credentials are for the most part extremely impressive, nevertheless, I argue that these are compromised in his analysis of Hitler’s racism. Finally, in the conclusion I ask whether the theoretical architecture of the New Trotskyism in IR is capable of developing a non-Eurocentric approach before concluding in the affirmative with respect to its modern revisionist incarnation of which Anievas is in the vanguard.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in International Politics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | eurocentrism; Eastern agency; neo-Trotskyism; uneven and combined development |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 06 Apr 2017 15:45 |
Last Modified: | 24 Aug 2017 04:29 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-016-0005-9 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/s41311-016-0005-9 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:114628 |