International practices

Abstract

In this article, we approach world politics through the lens of its manifold practices, which we define as competent performances. Studying International Relations (IR) from the perspective of international practices promises three key advances. First, by focusing on practices in IR, we can understand both IR theory and international politics better or differently. World politics can be conceived as structured by practices, which give meaning to international action, make possible strategic interaction, and are reproduced, changed, and reinforced by international action and interaction. This focus helps broaden the ontology of world politics, serves as a focal point around which debates in IR theory can be structured, and can be used as a unit of analysis that transcends traditional understandings of ‘levels of analysis’. We illustrate what an international practice is by revisiting Thomas Schelling's seminal works on bargaining. Second, with the help of illustrations of deterrence and arms control during the Cold War and of post-Cold War practices such as cooperative security, we show how practices constitute strategic interaction and bargaining more generally. Finally, a practice perspective opens an exciting and innovative research agenda, which suggests new research questions and puzzles, and revisits central concepts of our discipline, including power, history, and strategy.

Representation and agency in diplomacy: how Kosovo came to agree to the Rambouillet accords

“…While the Kosovars with the support of their legal advisors swiftly began preparing written comments on the drafts that were presented to them, the Serbian delegation was stalling. During the day, they were seen lounging in the public areas of the castle, while at night they would get drunk and sing, so that -as Weller (2009, p. 126) ironically notes -at one point 'an informal protest was made against the singing of Serbian 30 A concern with practical knowledge and competence is a thread that runs through the whole recent debate on international practices; see Adler and Pouliot (2011), Bueger and Gadinger (2015), and Neumann (2002). 31 Press briefing by the Contact Group negotiators, 18 February, 1999, printed in Weller (1999a.…”

European diplomatic practices: contemporary challenges and innovative approaches

“…Action is constitutive of practices, but action is specific and located in time; practices are general classes of action which need not be limited to any specific enacting (Adler and Pouliot 2011b). For example, Kuus (2014) notes that "Europe" is both a cause and an effect of contemporary European diplomacy as it is invoked but not defined, assumed but not explained, in everyday interactions of diplomats and officials in Brussels.…”

“…This call found the perfect respondents in Adler and Pouliot (Pouliot 2008, Adler and Pouliot 2011a, 2011b, who proceeded to provide working definitions of practices, as well as to engage scholars from proxy approaches. They define practices as "competent performances", or "socially meaningful patterns of action, which, in being performed more or less competently, simultaneously embody, act out, and possibly reify background knowledge and discourse in and on the material world" (Adler and Pouliot 2011b, p. 4).…”

The Limits of Epistemic Communities: EU Security Agencies

“…There are many kinds of transnational actors or networks-often comprised of professionals-that scholars have identified and researched in depth. Beyond epistemic communities, these include communities of practice (Adler & Pouliot, 2011), business networks, advocacy networks (Keck & Sikkink, 1998), interpretive communities (Johnstone, 2005), and argumentative communities (Collins, 1998), among others. Many of these groups are held together by shared values and a common motivation to achieve specific goals in the international arena, whether to improve environmental regulation, protect human rights, or promote EU integration in new policy areas.…”