Papers by Nicolás Terradas
International Politics, 2023
Adam Watson is one of the classical figures of the English School (ES). Scholarly appreciation of... more Adam Watson is one of the classical figures of the English School (ES). Scholarly appreciation of his contributions, however, has almost exclusively focused on his comparative work on historical regional ‘systems of states,’ the role of ‘hierarchy’ within an anarchical society, and the ‘evolution’/‘expansion’ of international society. The concept of ‘raison de système,’ for its part, although widely acknowledged as one of Watson’s main conceptual contributions, has received comparatively little attention from fellow members of the ES. In this context, this article reassesses the relevance of raison de système in Watson’s overall thinking by rooting it in a number of earlier intellectual influences emanating from the collaborative efforts of the British Committee. Watson’s raison de système, therefore, must be understood as a richer concept giving substance to how all classical ES thinkers collectively came to conceive of international society, thus giving this theoretical tradition its distinctiveness in the larger spectrum of international thought.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, 2021
Latin America is often hailed as "the most peaceful region in the world." In both academic and po... more Latin America is often hailed as "the most peaceful region in the world." In both academic and policy circles, this view has taken root under the common perception of the region as a "zone of peace" where war and interstate armed conflict have largely disappeared and are now unthinkable. The present article offers an extensive, critical review of the existing literature. It identifies areas of overlap and convergence, as well as areas of discord and intense disagreement among the multiple works which make up the Latin American "long peace" debate in the discipline of International Relations. Especial emphasis has been placed on analyzing contributions from within, as much as without, the region itself. In the first two sections, the article focuses on the academic debate and its main theoretical assumptions and hypotheses, and situates the debate in both historical and disciplinary context. In the third section, the article offers a critical re-assessment of the fundamental conceptual disagreements that continue to plague the debate; while in the final section, the article centers on a number of important areas of research still unexplored, undertheorized, or worthy of closer attention by those interested in conducting further research in this area.
International Studies Review, 2020
There is a fundamental link between political anthropology and Hedley Bull's classical study of i... more There is a fundamental link between political anthropology and Hedley Bull's classical study of international order, which has been persistently neglected by contemporary students of international society. While traditional assessments of Bull's work normally focus on the influences of political philosophy, international law, and history, a discussion of Bull's reliance on anthropological studies of anarchical societies is also essential for a more comprehensive understanding of his conceptualization of order and the sources, number, and functions of the “fundamental institutions” of international society. After showing how exactly political anthropology has underpinned Bull's work, the article explores its relevance for contemporary English school theorization. In particular, it offers a critique of the new institutionalists’ claims on the issue of sources, numbers, and functions of Bull's fundamental institutions. An updating of Bull's original “anthropological investigations” suggests a reconsideration of “Trade” as a sixth fundamental institution, a closer attention to “binding” and “dividing” forces in international society, as well as a reframing of the domestic analogy in IR.
Letras Internacionales 117, Mar 2011
Review of "Imperial by Design," by J. J. Mearsheimer
Working Papers by Nicolás Terradas
The study of war and peace has long been one of the main concerns for the field of IR. In its sea... more The study of war and peace has long been one of the main concerns for the field of IR. In its search for reliable explanations for what causes war, what restraints it, and what may bring about stable peace, IR has traditionally borrowed from related fields, like History, Political Theory, and Sociology. Despite its distinctive interdisciplinary nature, it is quite puzzling that the fields of Anthropology and Archaeology have received insufficient attention. These fields can uniquely illuminate questions related to the origins and causes of war, State-formation, and the functions of war and peace in pre-State, or anarchical, social orders. This paper explores the many insights that Anthropology and Archaeology have to offer to the theoretical study of war and peace under conditions of anarchy. As a contribution to bridging the gap between these fields and IR, this paper tests several theories of IR against our accumulated anthropological and archaeological knowledge. First, it surveys the historical development of the “anthropology of war” literature; second, it synthesizes the major theoretical arguments on the causes of war in Anthropology and Archaeology; and third, it explores several theoretical insights that can enrich some of the prevailing theories of war and peace in IR.
Conference Presentations by Nicolás Terradas
Since the 1990s, it has become commonplace in both academic and policy circles to characterize So... more Since the 1990s, it has become commonplace in both academic and policy circles to characterize South America as a consolidating “zone of peace” where the scourge of war and of pernicious security competition are believed to have been transcended. Traditional explanations for this regional "long peace," however, have been unable to evoke a firm consensus on the main causes and historical preconditions underpinning this phenomenon. In this paper, I borrow from Hedley Bull's work to suggest an alternative explanation for South America's historical evolution from an early period of chronic and intense armed conflict, to the more contemporary condition of prolonged interstate peace. In this sense, I argue that South America’s interstate regional order can be best understood as an evolved regional “society of states,” with its own distinctive "diplomatic culture" that prioritizes order and stability over other possible values, like justice or absolute autonomy. This study, therefore, offers an alternative explanation for South America’s “long peace” that is based on more than simply deterrence, power-balances, or hegemony; or the sharing of Liberal values, like democracy, free-trade and institutions; or any inter-subjective cultural identity transformation toward peace or the eradication of war. I focus, instead, on the progressive consolidation of a regional “society of states” that has successfully limited regional war among its members paradoxically not by eliminating the possibility of resorting to war, but by actually upholding it through the construction of certain fundamental regional institutions.
South America stands out as one of the most peaceful regions in the world in terms of interstate ... more South America stands out as one of the most peaceful regions in the world in terms of interstate relations. In a period of roughly 200 years since their independence from the Iberian empires, states in South America have gone to war with one another only sporadically, and since the conclusion of the Chaco War in 1935, have fought no major wars among each other at all. This “long peace” in South America, however, poses a challenge to the three major theoretical perspectives in IR (Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism), which have been largely at odds with explaining the South American case both analytically and empirically. This paper suggests a new explanation for South America’s interstate order as an evolved regional “society of states”—an explanation, that is, based on more than simply deterrence, power-balances, or hegemony; or the sharing of Liberal institutions and values, like democracy and free-trade; or the presence of any “cultural” inter-subjective transformation toward peace. This paper focuses, instead, on the progressive consolidation of a regional “society of states” that has successfully managed to limit regional war among its members, although paradoxically not by eliminating the possibility of resorting to war, but by taming and channeling war through the workings of certain key regional institutions.
This paper suggests that there is a fundamental link between Hedley Bull’s classical study of int... more This paper suggests that there is a fundamental link between Hedley Bull’s classical study of international order and Political Anthropology which has been consistently overlooked by contemporary students of international society. Traditional interpretations of "The Anarchical Society" provide only an incomplete understanding of Bull’s main work by focusing too narrowly on the influences of Political Philosophy, Law and History. However, Bull’s borrowing from political-anthropological studies on domestic “anarchical societies” is essential for his conceptualization of order, and for understanding the sources, number, and basic characteristics of the fundamental institutions of the international “anarchical society.” Rediscovering the centrality of Anthropology in Bull’s work through a re-exploration of the mechanisms by which ancient stateless societies maintained order amidst anarchy is indispensable for correcting biases and inconsistencies within contemporary English School theorization. First, this paper demonstrates in what way Political Anthropology underpins Bull’s main work. Then, it explores how a neglect of these anthropological foundations has led to rather sterile discussions about "primary institutions." Finally, it suggests possible ways for enriching Bull’s original framework by considering the contributions of more recent studies in Political Anthropology.
The countries of South America, and in particular those in the Southern Cone, are commonly seen a... more The countries of South America, and in particular those in the Southern Cone, are commonly seen as enjoying a stable and long peace, secured by the return of democracy and the end of the Cold War. In this context, the traditional applicability of the "security dilemma" seems to be called into question when assessing security dynamics in the region. More specifically, in recent decades, Argentina has largely "opted-out" of any security strategic competition by way of unilaterally disarming herself; while neighboring countries have been "missing out" on such a unique window of opportunity opened by their neighbor's challenging and counter-intuitive national security strategy. Given that these security dynamics run counter to what is expected in a traditional security dilemma, in a first section, we trace the evolution of the concept and develop a revised, contemporary understanding of it. In a second section, we apply this revised concept to the study of contemporary security dynamics in the South America, concentrating on the cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela.
The concept of the security dilemma, traditionally associated to the Realist school of Internati... more The concept of the security dilemma, traditionally associated to the Realist school of International Relations, has been problematized recently in its apparent inability to understand the rise of patterns of “stable peace” across multiple regions. In this paper, we take stock of the evolution of the concept of the security dilemma, and then explore the levels of validity/applicability of a revised security dilemma for the study of three specific regions: South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America’s Southern Cone. Although security patterns in all three of these regions have profoundly differed in the past, they have also shown a recent tendency towards peace--despite constant rounds of armament acquisition. This has led some students of regional security to suggest the obsolescence of the security dilemma as an analytical framework. But a closer, empirical assessment of the security situation in these three highly dynamic regions—for example in terms of "rising powers" within each of them—can shed more light on whether there is indeed any future for the security dilemma as an analytical tool.
The characterization of the international political system as “anarchic” runs deep in the field o... more The characterization of the international political system as “anarchic” runs deep in the field of International Relations. While there is wide disagreement about the implications of anarchy, major schools of thought in IR have largely embraced it as a fundamental assumption. The debate around the “anarchy problématique,” though, still suffers from a severe lack of interdisciplinarity: most of what IR theorists understand about international anarchy has been overwhelmingly influenced by political philosophers’ imagined representations of how pernicious “stateless” societies are. This over-reliance on Political Philosophy has led IR scholars to portray anarchy as a chaotic and asocial place—as a typical “warre of all against all.” Although political anthropologists have been challenging pessimistic representations like these for decades, IR theorists have paid little attention to their critiques. In this paper, we explore two questions: what can IR theorists learn from Political Anthropology with regard to anarchy; and what are the analytical implications of incorporating anthropological insights about anarchical societies into current IR theorizing. Building upon the pioneering works of Roger Masters and Hedley Bull, we study the potential and limits of incorporating insights from Political Anthropology into the study of order, war, and law under anarchy. We conclude by suggesting possible venues for future interdisciplinary research within IR.
El trabajo analiza la mayor o menor viabilidad de América del Sur para trascender el “dilema de s... more El trabajo analiza la mayor o menor viabilidad de América del Sur para trascender el “dilema de seguridad”. Para ello, aborda el debate contemporáneo sobre la llamada “larga paz sudamericana”; es decir, sobre las distintas causas propuestas para explicar la marcada infrecuencia de la guerra interestatal en América del Sur. El objetivo principal del trabajo es poder hacer más claro e inteligible para la disciplina el debate entorno a las causas de paz y guerra en América del Sur. En pos de ello, se recorren tres instancias: primero, se ordenan los argumentos del debate de una manera clara y según los lineamientos teóricos de la disciplina. Segundo, se discierne entre los aportes más optimistas y aquellos otros más pesimistas respecto a las oportunidades de trascender el dilema de seguridad en la región. Y por último, luego de someter a una revisión crítica los argumentos teóricos de uno y otro grupo, se identifican tanto falencias como aciertos y puntos en común, así como de disenso, para finalmente poder brindar una estructura básica sobre la cual mejorar el debate en cuestión e incluso extender el mismo a las problemáticas actuales de la región, como por ejemplo las cuestiones de rearme y/o renovación militar.
Book Reviews by Nicolás Terradas
Teaching Documents by Nicolás Terradas
The course examines various theories and critiques of democracy in modern political thought and i... more The course examines various theories and critiques of democracy in modern political thought and international relations, with an emphasis on contemporary problems in democratic theory and practice. Questions about the origins and dynamics of democracy have plagued political thinkers for thousands of years, and much blood and treasure has been spent in conflicts over what democracy means and what its implications are both for its citizens as well as world politics. In recent times, however, the remarkable surge of global democratic development has put the search for the origins of democracy and the sources of democratic stability at the heart of contemporary political science debates. Throughout the course, some of these fundamental questions and debates will be explored. For example: What factors promote or hinder the emergence of democracy? What are the tradeoffs between democracy and other goals sought by peoples and states? Is democracy an "end" to which the human race is evolving? Is the world really, as one observer noted, "condemned to democracy"?
The course studies the origins and historical evolution of the Latin-American state system since ... more The course studies the origins and historical evolution of the Latin-American state system since the early 19 th century (that is, for a period of roughly 200 years), paying special attention to power political dynamics and the parallel efforts at cooperation, inter-state solidarism, and regional order. With this in mind, the course adopts an explicitly historical approach, prioritizing the study of key processes and regional economic and geopolitical features and events that over time gave birth to the contemporary international relations of Latin America. Contrary to other approaches, which tend to conflate IR with Comparative Politics, or simply with the study of individual countries' foreign policies, this course advances an explicit "IR approach" that emphasizes regional and systemic processes shaping the development of Latin America's international relations as a distinctive and self-standing regional system of states, worthy of its own-equally distinctive-serious academic attention. In this context, students will have the opportunity to read extensively about the origins and evolution of Latin America as a discrete regional system of states, holistically understanding its unique features as well as its commonalities with other regional actors, institutional phenomena, and global trends.
The general objective of this course is to examine key theoretical schools of thought in Internat... more The general objective of this course is to examine key theoretical schools of thought in International Relations (IR) and their main debates around some specific themes. The course is designed around multiple discussion sessions and presentations based on a series of carefully-selected IR theory texts, dealing with contemporary and relevant topics (like U.S. hegemony; the role of international institutions; Human Rights; regional integration; or the global challenges of a rising China). Each week, students will confront a book of recent publication that exemplifies how a theory can be applied to the study of contemporary topics. Furthermore, these books represent "hard cases" or serious a priori challenges to the theory in question during each week. By the end of the course, the student will be more intimately familiarized with the main theoretical schools in IR, and develop a critical eye regarding their applicability to contemporary problems, assessing better each theory's strengths and weaknesses.
The course focuses on a sub-set of Security Studies that deals with the use of force in internati... more The course focuses on a sub-set of Security Studies that deals with the use of force in international relations. Special attention is paid to the impact of technological and normative change upon the practice of war among diverse political groups across time. One key, relatively recent, change in this sense is the advent of nuclear weapons-which has originated a paradoxical scenario for traditional ways of implementing foreign policy decisions. Throughout the semester, students will acquire several theoretical, conceptual, and analytical tools with which to filter, order and attach contextual meaning to a plethora of themes or issue-topics regarding national security, strategy, and foreign policy.
The general objective of this Summer course is to examine key theoretical schools of thought in I... more The general objective of this Summer course is to examine key theoretical schools of thought in International Relations (IR) and their multiple debates around issues related to conflict, war, and peace. The course is designed around two main parts which deal, first, with the analytical concepts, schools of thought, and main theoretical tools used to approach security studies in IR; and second, with a series of topic-related discussion sessions based on a carefully selected, recently published series of texts. This literature deals with contemporary and relevant topics (like "child soldiers," war and civilization, or state-building). A central preoccupation of this course is to ground both parts of the course (that is, the analytical and the empirical sections) with the anthropological literature on the origins of war and peace among human beings since as further back as we can collectively record. The use of anthropology and archaeology as a starting point to base our more contemporary discussions about international security is something unfortunately neglected by most IR courses. Despite being a compressed Summer course, we will try to recompose this deficiency of most undergraduate IR courses.
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Papers by Nicolás Terradas
Working Papers by Nicolás Terradas
Conference Presentations by Nicolás Terradas
Book Reviews by Nicolás Terradas
Teaching Documents by Nicolás Terradas