Abstract
In a world where convincing explanations take narrative form, IR theories, too, resort to the basic plot alternatives of tragedy, romance, comedy and irony/satire. While the tendency to view the human condition as tragic pertains especially to the so-called realist school, romantic IR storytellers dwell, for example, among liberals, Marxists and peace researchers. This paper focuses on the lesser analysed plots of comedy and irony/satire, finding comic traces in normative, constructivist and critical IR research, and the ironic/satiric mood in poststructural studies. Using the criteria of nonviolence, flexibility, self-reflection and innovativeness, the paper evaluates the relative merits and downsides of the different plots, and takes a stand in favour of comic IR theories. The paper argues that comic theories are best equipped to come up with novel solutions to grave world political problems. Mildly hopeful comedies steer clear of tragic despair, exuberant romantic optimism and satiric cynicism.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alker, H.R. 1996. Rediscoveries and Reformulations: Humanistic Methodologies for International Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Aristotle. 1996. Poetics, trans. by Heath, M. London: Penguin Books.
Ashley, R.K. 1989. Living on Border Lines: Man, Poststructuralism, and War. In International/Intertextual Relations, ed. J. Der Derian, and M.J. Shapiro, 259–321. New York: Lexington Books.
Bakhtin, M. 1968 [1965]. Rabelais and His World. Cambridge, MA and London: The MIT Press.
Booth, K., and N.J. Wheeler. 2008. The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics. Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Burke, K. 1966. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Burke, K. 1969a [1945]. A Grammar of Motives. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Burke, K. 1969b [1950]. A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Brown, C. 2007. Tragedy, ‘Tragic Choices’ and Contemporary International Political Theory. International Relations 21(1): 5–13.
Campbell, D. 1998. National Deconstruction: Violence, Identity, and Justice in Bosnia. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
Cox, R. 1981. Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory. Millennium 10(2): 126–155.
Eco, U. 1983 [1980]. The Name of the Rose (trans: William Weaver). San Diego and New York: Harcourt Brace and Company.
Frost, M. 2003. Tragedy, Ethics and International Relations. International Relations 17(4): 477–495.
Frye, N. .1973[1957]. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 162–539.
Fukuyama, F. 1992. The End of History and the Last Man. New York and Toronto: The Free Press.
Gandhi, M. 1960. All Men are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as Told in His Own Words, compiled and edited by K. Kripalani. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House.
Hall, I. 2014. The Satiric Vision of Politics: Ethics, Interests and Disorders. European Journal of International Relations 20(1): 217–236.
Ivie, R.L. 2003. Evil Enemy Versus Agonistic Other: Rhetorical Constructions of Terrorism. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 25(3): 181–200.
Knutsen, T.L. 2002. Twentieth-Century Stories. Journal of Peace Research 39(1): 119–127.
Kirshner, J. 2010. The Tragedy of Offensive Realism: Classical Realism and the Rise of China. European Journal of International Relations 18(1): 53–75.
Kuusisto, R. 2009. Comic Plots as Conflict Resolution Strategy. European Journal of International Relations 15(4): 601–626.
Lebow, R.N. 2005. Tragedy, Politics and Political Science. International Relations 19(3): 329–336.
Linklater, A. 2009. Grand Narratives and International Relations. Global Change, Peace & Security 21(1): 3–17.
Linklater, A. 2010. Global Civilizing Processes and the Ambiguities of Human Interconnectedness. European Journal of International Relations 16(2): 155–178.
Lyotard, J.-F. 1984. The Post-modern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Mayall, J. 2003. Tragedy, Progress and the International Order: A Response to Frost. International Relations 17(4): 497–503.
Milliken, J., and D. Sylvan. 1996. Soft Bodies, Hard Targets, and Chic Theories. Millennium 25(2): 321–359.
Payne, R. A. 2013. Reading the Global War on Terror as Comedy. Paper Delivered at the ISSS/ISAC Annual Conference; 4–6 August, Washington, DC, USA.
Payne, R. A. 2014. Using Zombie Comedies to Teach Critical IR Theory. Paper Delivered at the ISA Annual Meeting; 26–29 March, Toronto, Canada.
Rengger, N. 2005. Tragedy or Scepticism? Defending the Anti-Pelagian Mind in World Politics. International Relations 19(3): 321–328.
Ringmar, E. 2006. Inter-Textual Relations: The Quarrel Over the Iraq War as a Conflict Between Narrative Types. Cooperation and Conflict 41(4): 403–421.
Roe, P. 2000. Former Yugoslavia: The Security Dilemma That Never Was? European Journal of International Relations 6(3): 373–393.
Russett, B., and J. Oneal. 2001. Triangulating Peace. New York: W.W. Norton.
Shilliam, R. 2007. Morgenthau in Context: German Backwardness, German Intellectuals and the Rise and Fall of a Liberal Project. European Journal of International Relations 13(3): 299–327.
Skinner, Q. 1996. Reason and Rhetoric in the Philosophy of Hobbes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suganami, H. 1996. On the Causes of War. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Suganami, H. 2008. Narrative Explanation and International Relations: Back to Basics. Millennium—Journal of International Studies 37 (2): 327–356.
Tickner, J.A. 1992. Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security. New York: Columbia University Press.
Tickner, J.A. 1997. You Just Don’t Understand: Troubled Engagements Between Feminists and IR Theorists. International Studies Quarterly 41 (4): 611–632.
Weber, C. 2014. International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, 4th ed. New York: Routledge.
Wendt, A. 1992. Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization 46(2): 391–425.
Wendt, A. 1995. Constructing International Politics. International Security 20(1): 71–81.
Wendt, A. 2003. Why a World State is Inevitable. European Journal of International Relations 9(4): 491–542.
White, H. 1987. The Content of the Form: Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kuusisto, R. Comparing IR plots: dismal tragedies, exuberant romances, hopeful comedies and cynical satires. Int Polit 55, 160–176 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0076-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0076-2