2019 PHISO International Conference: Praxes turn in IR
The study of international relations typically gravitates towards decrypting “axiomatic givens” such as state rationality, national interest or regional identity. Moreover, intellectual diversity tends to be ideational with paradigmatic clashes that generates synthesis from theoretical reason as epitomized, for instance, by the “neo-neo” debate following the realism-idealism face-off. Nevertheless, IR as a discipline is not bereft of alternative approaches to studying the international. Thus, from interrogating the discipline to rethinking regions in global IR context, this prolegomenous forum broaches the “practice turn” in IR, the approach of privileging pragmatic imperatives as evidence by analytical units’ proclivities and practices in relational conduct instead of foundational logics in IR scholarship. Thus, in presenting IR realities as products of practices instead of being preordained by theoretical reason, the approach encourages inter-paradigmatic dialogue, if not syncretism, rather than synthetization in understanding world politics. For this forum, particular attention will be given to culture as performance of practices in anticipation of a workshop that identifies more for the upcoming 2019 PHISO International Conference. Meanwhile, as discussion of IR scholarship careens into practices, the forum will imbricate career potentialities in store for IR scholarship. Accordingly, preliminary consideration shall be vested upon the following topics:
- Culture as performance of practices
- The scholarly utility of practices in and beyond Western IR
- Dynamism in IR pedagogy, curriculum and career potentialities
- Juxtaposing constitutive explanation in Political Science and the heuristics of causality in IR practice theory
Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) 