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Western Theories and the non-Western World

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  • Shibashis Chatterjee

Abstract

Conventional international relations (IR) builds on Western problems and remain fixated on the Western understanding of war and conflict. Such ontology is grossly misleading to reflect upon and make sense of conflicts of the non-Western world. Western theories are based on ontological imaginations that are removed from the historical and sociological experiences of the non-Western world. Understanding non-Western conflicts requires an ontology based on the experiential reality of the post-colonial other. However, unless local variants are sufficiently factored in, it may also become as hegemonic as the Western imagination/s that it wishes to resist, counter and transcend. Conflicts in post-colonial societies demand explanatory frames sensitive to their historical and sociological specificities. The challenge before academic IR remains to question its Eurocentric ontology and historicise the subjectivity of the non-Western world. Epistemology is not the site for this much-needed breakthrough. Understanding the non-West is prior to understanding its conflicts.

Suggested Citation

  • Shibashis Chatterjee, 2014. "Western Theories and the non-Western World," South Asian Survey, , vol. 21(1-2), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:soasur:v:21:y:2014:i:1-2:p:1-19
    DOI: 10.1177/0971523115592470
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    References listed on IDEAS

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