Re-thinking the 'inter' in international politics

Abstract

This article examines the politics that emerge from three different conceptions of the `inter': exchange, interest and identity. It argues that the classical focus on 'distributive justice' in political analysis is too narrow since it excludes important issues such as non-cognitive factors (loyalty) and inter-generational questions that are of particular importance to politics. It thus draws attention to the 'particular' and (historically) contingent as defining characteristics of politics which have been marginalised by the contemporary emphasis on the 'universal' in both epistemology and (analytical) ethics.