Uluslararası İlişkiler Disiplininin Postkolonyal Yapı-Sökümü

Abstract

In the most general terms, Postcolonial Theory emphasizes that colonial relations between colonial and colonized societies do not end with the formal end of colonialism and continue in economic, political, cultural, intellectual and discursive dimensions. It includes exploring the means of this domination and problematizing Western-centrism. In this context, it offers a useful analytical framework to overcome the West-centric nature of the International Relations discipline. In this study, from a postcolonial perspective, the West-centrism of the International Relations discipline is problematized and the tools of domination of this hierarchy are investigated. Thus, it is aimed to identify the limitations that need to be overcome for the internationalization of the discipline. As a result, the Western-centred approaches of mainstream theories, the subjectivity of the Other in the discipline, historiography, and the hierarchy in the discipline's academy have been identified as problematic areas. By revealing these problems, the postcolonial approach helps to represent the Other in the discipline, to make room for the history, subjectivity, and other factors of the Other, in short, to put an end to the Other's subordination.