Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory
The phenomenon of displacement is a fundamental source of social, political and economic tensions in the contemporary world. Despite this centrality there has been relatively little sustained theoretical engagement with this phenomenon within the discipline of International Relations (IR). In this...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
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2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31901/ |
| _version_ | 1848794292238155776 |
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| author | Mansell, Jonathon |
| author_facet | Mansell, Jonathon |
| author_sort | Mansell, Jonathon |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The phenomenon of displacement is a fundamental source of social, political and economic tensions in the contemporary world. Despite this centrality there has been relatively little sustained theoretical engagement with this phenomenon within the discipline of International Relations (IR). In this thesis I will therefore develop a phenomenological approach, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, in order to explore ways in which the placed experience of ethical proximity is disrupted through logics of spatial mediation. I will then apply this phenomenological approach to a reading of four fundamental narratives of displacement in the western philosophical tradition: Exodus, Odyssey, Crusade and Conquest. Through these narratives, I will argue, that we find a process of the subsumption of place within spatial totalities in which inter-personal relations are mediated in relation to the projects of the totality. Ultimately, I will suggest this process of totalisation has shaped the fundamental structure of modern international theory. I will also suggest, however, that the placidness of everyday life constantly disrupts this totalisation. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:13:52Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-31901 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:13:52Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-319012025-02-28T13:23:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31901/ Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory Mansell, Jonathon The phenomenon of displacement is a fundamental source of social, political and economic tensions in the contemporary world. Despite this centrality there has been relatively little sustained theoretical engagement with this phenomenon within the discipline of International Relations (IR). In this thesis I will therefore develop a phenomenological approach, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, in order to explore ways in which the placed experience of ethical proximity is disrupted through logics of spatial mediation. I will then apply this phenomenological approach to a reading of four fundamental narratives of displacement in the western philosophical tradition: Exodus, Odyssey, Crusade and Conquest. Through these narratives, I will argue, that we find a process of the subsumption of place within spatial totalities in which inter-personal relations are mediated in relation to the projects of the totality. Ultimately, I will suggest this process of totalisation has shaped the fundamental structure of modern international theory. I will also suggest, however, that the placidness of everyday life constantly disrupts this totalisation. 2016-07-13 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31901/1/Thesis%20for%20Submission.pdf Mansell, Jonathon (2016) Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. international relations international politics levinas displacement |
| spellingShingle | international relations international politics levinas displacement Mansell, Jonathon Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title | Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title_full | Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title_fullStr | Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title_short | Displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| title_sort | displacement and totalisation: a messianic history of international theory |
| topic | international relations international politics levinas displacement |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31901/ |