Progressing Fragmentation of Political Science

International Relations vs. Global Studies

Abstract

While state has traditionally been the sole (or at least primary) unit of analysis in International Relations, scholars are increasingly recognizing non-state entities, such as interstate organizations, multinational companies, terrorist cells, religious institutions, non-governmental organizations, epistemic communities, and transnational advocacy networks as actors in international politics. A natural question arises: is International Relations, as a discipline, capable of conceptualizing and explicating complex webs of relations among a myriad of actors, or is mapping a new field of enquiry required? Transnational Studies, offered at various degree levels at several universities, positions itself as a sub-filed within Humanities, mainly preoccupied with historical, social, cultural and linguistic aspects of cross-border interactions. Global Studies seems to reconcile International Relations and Transnational Studies. However, Global Studies, as a discipline, is only in the making; its emergence is surrounded by healthy skepticism.