Contested essential concepts in international relations

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dc.contributor.authorBERENSKÖTTER, Felix
dc.contributor.authorGUZZINI, Stefano
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-26T08:13:53Z
dc.date.available2025-06-26T08:13:53Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.descriptionPublished: 17 June 2025
dc.description.abstractThis chapter explores the notion of “essential concepts” and their contestation with an eye on the field of International Relations (IR). The title plays on W.B. Gallie's famous essay to pursue the argument that a debate over the meaning of an essential concept has analytical, normative and political value. The chapter is structured around three questions: What are concepts? What makes a concept essential? How should we think about contestation? Starting from the position that concepts play a central role in knowledge production and are embedded in (meta-)theoretical logics that shape their meaning, it discusses how contestation plays out in three domains: abstract and normative theoretical knowledge; explanatory and empirical knowledge; and practical knowledge. The chapter concludes with the argument that meaningful contestation requires translation.
dc.description.versionThe chapter is a published version of DIIS WP 2024/02
dc.identifier.citationCameron G. THIES (ed.), Handbook of international relations, Cheltenham ; Northampton : Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025, pp. 89–105
dc.identifier.doi10.4337/9781785366130.00013
dc.identifier.isbn9781785366130
dc.identifier.isbn9781785366123
dc.identifier.isbn9781035369423
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1814/92876
dc.language.isoen
dc.orcid.putcode1814/80932:186711601
dc.publisherEdward Elgar Publishing
dc.relation.isbasedonhttps://hdl.handle.net/1814/78154
dc.subjectConcepts
dc.subjectTheories
dc.subjectMeaning
dc.subjectContestation
dc.subjectTranslation
dc.titleContested essential concepts in international relations
dc.typeContribution to book
dspace.entity.typePublication
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-7721-6983
person.identifier.other29377
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationd1e0d45e-6256-4ec0-bddb-9b347d8e56ae
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryd1e0d45e-6256-4ec0-bddb-9b347d8e56ae
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