Dancing at the Edge of Culture
| Autor: | Salih Bicakci |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | International Studies Review. 10:93-96 |
| ISSN: | 1468-2486 1521-9488 |
| Popis: | The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy. Edited by Shaffer Brenda. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. 352 pp., $50.00 cloth (ISBN: 0-262-19529-1), $25.00 paper (ISBN: 0-262-69321-6). By the second half of twentieth century, the existing approaches to international relations theory no longer appeared adequate for explaining the enormous events taking place in the international arena. In part as a result, cultural studies entered the field through constructivism. Cultural constructivists assert that social norms shape and change foreign policy over time, not the structure of the international system (Hopf 2002). The impact of cultural phenomena, including religion, on politics became an increasingly popular focus of study. Various scholars have tried to understand the extent to which cultural background influences the decisions and decision-making processes of political elites (Katzenstein 1996). After the September 11 attacks, researchers have been particularly motivated to better understand how religion shapes the world views of individuals. In The Limits of Culture , Brenda Shaffer takes this interest a step further, examining the impact of culture—and religion as an aspect of culture—on the foreign policies of states. In the past, the mainstream approaches to international relations and foreign policy analysis, such as realism and even neoliberalism, did not accept the idea that culture in general, or religion in particular, had a significant impact on the preferences of a state's foreign policymakers. Constructivists, although almost certain that culture and history are critical determinants of a state's behavior, have also paid limited attention to the impact of religion on foreign policymaking. In The Limits of Culture , Shaffer suggests that she is attempting to test whether these theories are still valid for the twenty-first century given the conditions created by globalization. Although this question may provide an intellectual starting point, it is not easy to follow it throughout the book. Actually, Shaffer starts with an analysis of the basics of culture and identity and then explores Islam's role in the formation of identities. How these religious … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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