Arrangement

Teoriseminaret baserer seg på følgjande tekst:

“The article introduces a new explanation of international ordar that focuses on representants. Representants are practices, artefacts and language that represent the units of the international system. They are crucial for international relations, given that international relations deal with an abstract macro-realm that can nevar be fully present, but needs to be represented and made concrete in specific localities.

An entirely faithful representation of an object is never possible. There is always a certain gap between a representation and what is being represented. In that gap lies the independent role of representants. Representants have four interrelated effects: 1) They define the units of the international system; 2) They legitimize them; 3) They provide them with differential degrees of power; 4) They serve as tools for governing.

Wh-en existing representants are seriously challenged, orders are in crisis; when new representants emerge, a new ordar has taken hald. The paper develops a mechanism of change emerging from struggles over representants. It studies the transition from the medieval ordar of universal monarchy to an ordar of divine right absolutism. Specific representants, such as gothic cathedrals, the mass, and coronation rituals maintained the medieval hierarchical ordar with the pope/emperor at the apex. The Reformation provided the impetus for kings to challenge the medieval ordar and adapt existing representants, so that they would portray the independence of kings from the papacy/emperor, and simultaneously position kings above feudal lords.”

Alena Drieschova er universitetslektor i internasjonale relasjonar ved Cardiff University. Ho arbeider med rolla som materiell kultur og teknologi har i internasjonale relasjonar, og på nasjonalisme, etniske konfliktar og prosessar for nasjonsdanning. Ho bruker etnografiske metodar i forskinga si. Dei regionale fokusa hennar fokuserer på Europa og Sør-Asia. Drieschova er assisterande redaktør av tidsskriftet New Perspectives: Journal of Central and Eastern European Politics and International Relations.

Teoriseminaret moderes av forskingssjef på NUPI, Ole Jacob Sending.