Is faster better? Political and ethical framings of pace and space

Time, Temporality and Violence in International Relations, 2016

2016

International Relations scholars have traditionally expressed little direct interest in addressing time and temporality. Yet, assumptions about temporality are at the core of many theories of world politics and time is a crucial component of the human condition and our social reality. Today, a small but emerging strand of literature has emerged to meet questions concerning time and temporality and its relationship to International Relations head on. This volume provides a platform to continue this work. The chapters in this book address subjects such as identity, terrorism, war, gender relations, global ethics and governance in order to demonstrate how focusing on the temporal aspects of such phenomena can enhance our understanding of the world. 134 Islam and the Politics of Temporality: The Case of ISIS

International Theory

Jiseigaku Heno Chosen: Seiji Kenkyu No Jikanron Teki Tenkai (Challenge of Chrono-Politics: Temporal Turn in the study of politics), Minerva Publishing, 2021, Chapter 11, 2021

The purpose of this chapter is to show that there are two types of temporal theories in the study of international relations, namely, the "substituting type" and the "de-substituting type," to clarify the problems of both types, and to present the issues that must be considered in order to construct temporal studies in the future. Specifically, the first section analyzes the basic issues, and the second section examines the current status and issues of the "temporal turn" derived from critical theory, and clarifies the structural aporia of temporal theory in international relations studies and its causes. It will be shown that this aporia is not only limited to temporal theory, but is also a structural problem in which critical theories in international relations studies are in a state of limbo with their adversaries, the "mainstream" state-centered theories of international relations. Section 3 discusses Japanese philosopher Shozo Omori's theory of time, and Section 4 draws on Japanese sociologist Sosuke Mita's comparative sociological theory of time (including his works under the name "Yusuke Maki") to identify issues that time theory in international relations research has not been able to consider. Finally, in Section 5, I summarize the discussion and present the theoretical issues of temporality studies starting from a fundamental consideration of the relationship between proto-time and (proto)space.

Time, Temporality and Global Politics (Bristol: E-IR, 2016) Andrew Hom, Christopher McIntosh, Alasdair MacKay, Liam Stockdale (ed.)

International Studies Quarterly, 2014

Critically inclined International Relations (IR) scholars have recently turned to examining the issue of time and its implications for world politics. However, there has yet to be a thorough account of how a focus on temporality deepens our understanding of one of the field's core concepts: subjectivity. Drawing upon insights from psychoanalytic theory, this paper argues that the discursive decentering of subjectivity (long a focus in poststructuralist IR) is bound to the subject's temporal decentering. Moreover, conceptualizing these together helps to account for the underexplored role of desire in subject formation. The paper thus draws together insights regarding discourse, desire, and identity to offer a more comprehensive theory of the subject in IR and a richer account of the social construction process in general. The empirical import of these ideas is illustrated with regard to the function of temporality and desire in the politics of the US-led war on terror.

Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2008

This paper contributes to the growing academic literature of Critical Terrorism Studies. It does so by tracing the ways in which the George W. Bush administration narrated the unfolding War on Terror around specific and distinct conceptions of temporality. Claims to temporal discontinuity, linearity, and timelessness, it is argued, were all central to the writing of this conflict, and helped to inscribe significance, coherence, and normative integrity into the counter-terrorism ‘war’. By tracing the emergence and implications of these heterogeneous writings, this paper reflects on the productivity of temporality as a discursive resource and contributes to the denaturalisation of the War on Terror's ostensibly descriptive construction already underway within existing debates.

2009

Since 11 September 2001, the War on Terror has dominated global political life. Times of Terror takes a critical look at the different ways in which the George W. Bush administration created and justified this far-reaching conflict through their use of language and other discursive practices. It becomes clear that representations of time were central in presenting this war as a necessary, legitimate and coherent response to the events of 9/11. Moreover, by exploring these representations, a space is opened for a rethinking the politics of identity, violence and time beyond this particular context.

International Studies Quarterly, 2010

Thisarticleengagestheplatformofcriticalgeopoliticsthroughconceptualclarificationofthe debatesaroundchronopolitics(thepoliticsoftime).Itarguesthatthecurrentliteraturehas eitherreducedittothedynamicof'speed'orthe'modern'timeconsciousnessingeopolitics. After reemphasising a narrative understanding of temporality and a non-dichotomous conception of space and time, the article highlights the hetero-temporality of geopolitical discourse. It suggests that chronopolitics should be understood not as an alternative to geopoliticsbutasoneofitscrucialelements-andonethatcanbefoundintheprojectofa criticalgeopolitics,too.