‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’

The paper explores how the academic study of International Relations (IR) seeks out and develops its ‘publics’ and how these serve to propagate the discipline’s founding purpose. The history of the founding of IR, in the immediate post-First World War years, is discussed. Using a social constructiv...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Peter Vale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2014-01-01
Series:Acta Academica
Online Access:http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1434
_version_ 1797258254780203008
author Peter Vale
author_facet Peter Vale
author_sort Peter Vale
collection DOAJ
description The paper explores how the academic study of International Relations (IR) seeks out and develops its ‘publics’ and how these serve to propagate the discipline’s founding purpose. The history of the founding of IR, in the immediate post-First World War years, is discussed. Using a social constructivist approach, the article then tracks how the idea of the ‘international’ emerged in two separate (but closely linked) approaches to understanding social relations at this level of organisation, viz., International Law and International Relations. Throughout, the argument stresses that those who founded IR understood that it was essential to enlist the interest of the ‘public’ if they were to succeed in the founding purpose. Intermittently, references to the discipline’s South African life form are made.
first_indexed 2024-04-24T22:50:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-da4a5a2665f949b38605eb5fedc31914
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0587-2405
2415-0479
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T22:50:37Z
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher University of the Free State
record_format Article
series Acta Academica
spelling doaj.art-da4a5a2665f949b38605eb5fedc319142024-03-18T11:05:14ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Academica0587-24052415-04792014-01-0146110.38140/aa.v46i1.1434‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’Peter Vale0University of Johannesburg The paper explores how the academic study of International Relations (IR) seeks out and develops its ‘publics’ and how these serve to propagate the discipline’s founding purpose. The history of the founding of IR, in the immediate post-First World War years, is discussed. Using a social constructivist approach, the article then tracks how the idea of the ‘international’ emerged in two separate (but closely linked) approaches to understanding social relations at this level of organisation, viz., International Law and International Relations. Throughout, the argument stresses that those who founded IR understood that it was essential to enlist the interest of the ‘public’ if they were to succeed in the founding purpose. Intermittently, references to the discipline’s South African life form are made. http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1434
spellingShingle Peter Vale
‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
Acta Academica
title ‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
title_full ‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
title_fullStr ‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
title_full_unstemmed ‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
title_short ‘Home and away’: the international and its ‘publics’
title_sort home and away the international and its publics
url http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1434
work_keys_str_mv AT petervale homeandawaytheinternationalanditspublics