International Relations' Image of Thought

Collective Identity, Desire and Deleuzian Ethology

Abstract

This article focuses on the prevalence of the concept of identity in International Relations Theory (IRT) and inquires into its ethical effectivity for Critical International Relations Theory (CIRT). It's aim is therefore two-fold. The first section argues that traditional IRT has been based on a particular 'image of thought' which has helped define the problems and possibilities of international politics in a very specific manner. Using the work of Deleuze and Guattari, it attempts to problematize and politicize these traditional understandings of theory. The second section examines the use of identity as a concept by CIRT and, in light of the Deleuzian perspective developed in the first, evaluates its effectivity as a critical tool. The paper argues that the concept of identity has become central to a variety of critical approaches to IRT. It seeks to show, however, that critical uses of identity which are not accompanied by a concomitant critique of the presuppositions of our modern image of thought actually run the risk of further naturalizing identity. Considering this question through an examination of the provocative work of David Campbell and Roxanne Lynn Doty, the paper demonstrates that these critical approaches sometimes overlook the complex assemblages of desire and power that underlie identity. The article concludes by suggesting that an ethological interrogation of these complex assemblages (inspired by the work of Deleuze and Guattari) would strengthen CIRT' s project of challenging exclusive identities and nationalist imaginaries.