Most importantly, poststructuralism allows you to become care- fully attuned to -- and interrogate -- the many ways that power is exercised. This hierarchy of grief can also be seen in the outpouring of sympathy for victims of terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 and Nice in July 2016. This discourse argues that post-structuralism as a theoretical and philosophical perspective may be beneficial to the study of international politics within the field of International Relations. 4.0 An Explanation of Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Post-Structuralism. This is an excerpt from International Relations Theory – an E-IR Foundations beginner’s textbook. All Rights Reserved | Site by Rootsy. An elite programme to restrict civil liberties can be justified to a society conditioned by the ‘expert’ repetition of this discourse by appealing to the objective logic it asserts and discounting all other interpretations. For such critics, to understand truth only semantically leads This messy entanglement of the everyday and the elite shows that a plethora of discourses can coexist and craft the view of international relations that we are offered. As the United States was drawn further into destructive and protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the public opinion that had supported intervention began to wane. Find out more about this, and many other, International Relations theories with a range of multimedia resources compiled by E-IR. How we receive information and the way that news events are presented to a society shapes how we conceptualise and react to political events. For this reason, poststructuralists encourage researchers to be sceptical of universal narratives that attempt to offer an objective worldview, as these assumptions are heavily influenced by pre-existing assumptions of what is true -- and usually underlined by the views of those in power. The international relations schools of thought known as Realism and Idealism identify specific and similar characteristics of actors in the conceptual development of their theories. Structuralist ideas are rooted in Marxist analysis and focus on how the dominant economic structures of society affect (i.e., exploit) class interests and relations. Additionally, elites are often also categorised as 'experts' within society, giving them the authority to further reinforce the viewpoints that serve their best interests to a wide audience. theories of international political economy. One of the most common binary oppositions is to establish different groups or countries in terms of 'them' versus 'us'. Tags: International Relations, IR Theory, Political Science, Political Science & International Relations, Diplomacy. Along with these fatalities, as the media began to report on the abuses that were carried out, the regime of truth that had been centred on the foreign policy directives of the Bush presidency started to falter. In this discursive construct, then, people are presented with the choice between a state that respects civil liberties but is left potentially insecure or a state that must curb personal freedoms in order to be secure and protected. The starting point for a post-structural theoretical vision is language and signification. Interspersed with this, the widespread international outcry to the attacks simultaneously worked to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity of these actors. AFRICA | It certainly prevented the chance of dealing with these attacks through diplomacy, as the overarching discourse stated that these terrorists merely wanted to destroy the world before them. The media is a prime example of a site where discourses within regimes of truth are (re)produced and can be identified. Overviews. USA | In the study of international relations, discourse analysis is associated with post-structuralism, a theoretical approach that shares realism’s concern with states and power, but differs from realism’s assumption that states are driven by self-interest. Therefore, the move to achieve increased levels of security without the infringement upon personal or civil liberties is excluded from the argument, as the two are constantly being positioned in direct opposition to each other. These ideas and concepts have been used to produce new knowledge about world politics. The strength of dominant discourses lies in their ability to shut out other options or opinions to the extent that thinking outside the realms set by the discourse is seen as irrational. The term "critical theory" is associated with the Frankfurt School, which developed the twentieth century version of scholarly Marxism. Aishling Mc Morrow is a Lecturer in International Relations at Queen's University Belfast, UK. and via a free PDF download. In newspaper reports – specifically, in the week after the attacks – the terrorists were presented as evil and irrational, their stated political motivations were effaced and instead terrorists were repeatedly spoken of as crazed and apolitical. Therefore, the ways that famines occur as a result of elites taking particular forms of political action, through processes of exploitation or inaction due to profits on increased food prices, are lost when they are presented as unavoidable natural disasters. As the United States was drawn further into destructive and protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the public opinion that had supported intervention began to wane. Therefore, by design, poststructuralism conflicts with the bulk of other IR theories as it finds them unable (or unwilling) to fully account for the true diversity of international relations. Post-International Relations: Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism and Postimperalism? It is closely related to Post-Modernism, although the two concepts are not synonymous.. As such, the official discourse as crafted by elites never fully accounts for or subsumes the whole of a society. With the simplistic interpretation of the historical relations between the ‘West’ and ‘East’ that was encouraged in this discursive construction, the regime of truth played upon and amplified the notion of the Muslim or Arab world as backward and primordial. For example, despite the warmongering in the wake of 9/11, there were large-scale anti-war protests by members of the public across many nations. In practice, the dominant discourse of securing the state often works to silence any concerns about enhanced state power. Poststructuralism and media representations of terrorists. Furthermore, by tracing the rise and fall of regimes of truth as they take on new forms and favour new actors, poststructuralism shows how discourses can change over time and be destabilised. Structuralism and Post-Structuralism are two different literary movements. Structuralism (international relations): | |Structuralism in international relations theory| refers to "A theory of |international r... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Find out more about E-IR's range of open access books here. Available now on Amazon International Relations. The official discourse across an event, although powerful, never fully accounts for the reading of the entire situation. Thus, the official discourse regarding terrorism and intervention was changing and this shift can be identified by a shift to more clandestine forms of intervention in the Middle East from 2009 onwards -- watermarked by the presidency of Barack Obama. Along with these fatalities, as the media began to report on the abuses that were carried out, the regime of truth that had been centred on the foreign policy directives of the Bush presidency started to falter. Download your free copy here. A language should be understood as a structure because the individual words gain their meaning due to the existence of the structure. Structuralism is an intellectual tendency that seeks to understand and explain social reality in terms of social structures. Additionally, these terrorists were set apart as different from more traditional forms of terrorism that the world had previously witnessed through the highlighting of the lethality and deadliness of mass murdering transnational terrorism -- a move which heightened the emotions of fear and anxiety further. While some may support the wars in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) that followed these attacks, the poststructuralist contribution deconstructs how this militaristic and aggressive response to 9/11 was legitimised by the discursive construction of the terrorists, the emotions that were manipulated and the divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’ that was fashioned. ALTERNATIVES TURKISH JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS www.alternetivesjournal.net Poststructuralism and the Analysis of International Relations Yusuf Sayin *, Davut Ates ∗∗∗∗ Abstract: Postmodernism and poststructuralism move from the phrase that history is narrative and narratives are texts or meaning is encoded in language. For example, let us take language. For this reason, poststructuralists encourage researchers to be sceptical of universal narratives that attempt to offer an objective worldview, as these assumptions are heavily influenced by pre-existing assumptions of what is true – and usually underlined by the views of those in power. Poststructuralism encourages a way of looking at the world that challenges what comes to be accepted as 'truth' and 'knowledge'. Poststructuralists argue that ‘knowledge’ comes to be accepted as such due   to the power and prominence of certain actors in society known as ‘elites’, who then impose it upon others. These entities exist independently of one’s knowledge of them. Butler (2003) builds upon this idea of discourses excluding other possibilities by proposing that certain lives, in certain conflicts or terrorist atrocities, are deemed as more 'grievable' than others. The conventional paradigms of International Relations (IR) have been designing global politics until the 1980s. President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an ‘axis of evil’ – making these countries the ‘them’ that were rhetorically and politically positioned as international pariahs in contrast to the innocent ‘us’ of the United States and its allies. Elnur Ismayilov Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. Panel Number 46. W.V. Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted ‘facts’ and ‘beliefs’ actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of particular actors within international relations. To underscore this link to death and destruction, the media narrative also consistently linked both the acts and actors of 9/11 to images and metaphors of pestilence and disease. Panel Chair . As such, if we want to observe   how people have come to conceive and frame both terrorism and terrorists, the poststructuralist can analyse media accounts in order to analyse the discursive construction of these political actors and associated terrorist events. In political economy: International political economy. The importance of poststructuralism is to highlight existing regimes of truth and show that conventional ways of thinking and analysis in international relations are unable to point out how certain other possibilities are excluded by these discourses from the very start. Kindle and other e-reader versions are available via the relevant stores/apps. Email Alerts | Poststructuralism encourages a way of looking at the world that challenges what comes to be accepted as ‘truth’ and ‘knowledge’. While the presentation of terrorists as irrational and evil has found solid ground and the dominant perceptions of terrorism and terrorists are of an illogical and apolitical act and actor, there always will be deviation from this conceptualisation. Post-Structuralism is a late 20th Century movement in philosophy and literary criticism, which is difficult to summarize but which generally defines itself in its opposition to the popular Structuralism movement which preceded it in 1950s and 1960s France. WORLD | Additionally, elites are often also categorised as ‘experts’ within society, giving them the authority to further reinforce the viewpoints that serve their best interests to a wide audience. Besides the critical perspective, post-structuralism also brings philosophical ideas and concepts to the study of international relations (Baylis, 2011, p. 69). With the simplistic interpretation of the historical relations between the 'West' and 'East' that was encouraged in this discursive construction, the regime of truth played upon and amplified the notion of the Muslim or Arab world as backward and primordial. If we look to the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001 (commonly known as 9/11) we can see these categories of differentiation and their influence begin to manifest themselves. In practice, the dominant discourse of securing the state often works to silence any concerns about enhanced state power. The impact of poststructuralism within International Relations comes from its ability to not only identify and uncover power relations that dictate political events but also make space for alternative discourses. Foucault is usually described as a post-structuralist, as is Derrida; deconstruction is also said to be a form of post-structuralism. Thus, the official discourse regarding terrorism and intervention was changing and this shift can be identified by a shift to more clandestine forms of intervention in the Middle East from 2009 onwards – watermarked by the presidency of Barack Obama. Post-structuralism wants us to take think critically about how we construct the world. Moreover, the emotions that the narratives of these actions evoked related back to feelings of love, empathy and altruism that the media utilised to engender further cohesion in society against the ‘other’ of the terrorist. Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below. Discourses which augment the power of elites are called dominant or official discourses by poststructuralists. A regime of truth, then, is constituted by the dominant discourse, elite actors and the language that is used to create and sustain meaning and truth that serves the interest of the favoured actors. UNITED STATES | The increased use of special forces and drone strikes allowed Obama to continue to exert influence over the region without overtly declaring war – while also distancing his administration from the military intervention that defined that of his predecessor. Over time, the discursive construction of terrorists by the media was not strong enough to override the concurrent media accounts of large numbers of casualties resulting from the intervention. Introducing Postcolonialism in International Relations Theory, Introducing Constructivism in International Relations Theory, Introducing Realism in International Relations Theory, Introducing the English School in International Relations Theory, Introducing Feminism in International Relations Theory. One of the most common binary oppositions is to establish different groups or countries in terms of ‘them’ versus ‘us’. Poststructuralists argue that 'knowledge' comes to be accepted as such due to the power and prominence of certain actors in society known as 'elites', who then impose it upon others. Most importantly, poststructuralism allows you to become care- fully attuned to – and interrogate – the many ways that power is exercised. The reactions of the public that gathered together to pray, support each other, volunteer and eventually join the military juxtaposed radically with the destructive actions of the terrorists. Themes of patriotism and civility were deployed within the media to further distance the cohesive ‘us’ from the generic barbarian terrorist. Instead, post-structuralism is an approach, attitude, or ethos that pursues critique in particular way. The pervasion of this discourse also served to conflate the motivations and acts of these terrorists with the construction of a wider Muslim and Arab society. As the defining global terrorist attack of the twenty-first century, the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States can be used to convey how dominant discourses, instigated by governmental elites, were perpetuated and reinforced by the media. BUSINESS | Post Structuralism In International Relations. For instance, they include government ministers who decide policy focus and direction for a state, business leaders who leverage vast financial resources to shape market direction, and media outlets that decide how a person is portrayed while reporting a story. Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to Personal freedoms – such as the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly – have been placed as the limit against which security exists. From this, poststructuralism critically questions what purpose did the construction, by both the media and the government, of a dominant discourse that posited the terrorists and the society that they belonged to as evil and barbaric serve? Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted 'facts' and 'beliefs' actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of … The terrorists were plagued by 'inexplicable neurosis' and driven by 'ethnic, superstitious and tribal madnesses' (Toynbee 2001). The importance of the recognition of this discourse is not to attempt to present these political actors -- the terrorists -- in a better light, but to recognise how the consistent and universal portrayal of them as evil and irrational made certain reactions and foreign policy actions more amenable and immediately cut off other methods of responding to these terrorist attacks. It held that language is not a transparent medium that connects one directly with a ‘truth’ or ‘reality’ outside it but rather a structure or code, whose parts derive their meaning from their contrast with one another. Site Map | Section. Within the regime of truth of the War on Terror, then, this emotive discourse was extended to every Muslim, every Arab, and, eventually, every non-Westerner. The power relation that is embedded within this relationship (for example, good versus evil or developed versus undeveloped) serves to reinforce the preferred meaning within the discursive construct. EDUCATION | From this we must recognise that elite and everyday discourses co-exist and, although one assumes a dominant position, there are still many other competing discourses at play that shape international relations and have the potential to contribute to under- standings commonly seen as 'knowledge' and 'truth'. International Relations as a discipline is full of these oppositions and they are used by elites to both create favourable meaning out of certain events and to allow for this meaning to be easily absorbed and accepted by the wider public. This chapter examines the use of discourse analysis in the study of foreign policy. Though post-structuralists all present different critiques of structuralism, common themes among them include the rejection of the self-sufficiency of structuralism, as well as an interrogation of the binary oppositions that constitute its … While some may support the wars in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) that followed these attacks, the poststructuralist contribution deconstructs how this militaristic and aggressive response to 9/11 was legitimised by the discursive construction of the terrorists, the emotions that were manipulated and the divide between 'us' and 'them' that was fashioned. Post-structuralism is the literary and philosophical work that both builds upon and rejects ideas within structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. This is particularly because, as it is examined throughout this essay, post-structuralism generally does not seek to present a specific worldview of its … This viewpoint is underscored by Foucault's (1984, 127) assertion that 'we must not imagine the world turns towards us a legible face which we would only have to decipher'. ENVIRONMENT | The impact of poststructuralism within IR theory comes from its ability to not only identify and uncover power relations that dictate political events but also make space for alternative discourses to emerge that can also affect the course of events. In this discursive construct, then, people are presented with the choice between a state that respects civil liberties but is left potentially insecure or a state that must curb personal freedoms in order to be secure and protected. If we look to the work of one of the leading scholars of poststructuralism, Michel Foucault, then the concepts of elites, discourses and the power of language and binary oppositions all tie together to create what he labels a ‘regime of truth’. Abstract: The paper examined Post Structuralism within the context of International Relations, despite the fact that, post structuralism actually give a number of general and constructive puzzle which can be administer in other to approach the study of international politics in a different directions. WEALTH | Post-Structuralism in IR Not a theory of international politics, but more of an approach, an ethos, or a 'critical attitude' Interested in representation, power, knowledge, and the politics of identity - … Poststructuralists always call into question how certain accepted ‘facts’ and ‘beliefs’ actually work to reinforce the dominance and power of particular actors within international relations. This renders poststructuralism openly critical of any theory that claims to be able to identify objective fact – as truth and knowledge are subjective entities that are produced rather than discovered. The term "structuralism" refers to a study of mental structures in society. amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Privacy, Click Here: International Relations Theory (E-IR Foundations). In general, post-structuralism emphasizes the importance of language in structuring our experience of the world - meanings are not inherent in the thing or action itself but are created by words and their relationship to other words. As the work of post-structuralists is mainly concerned with challenging the aims and motives of existing theories and discourses, it is perhaps more accurate to think of post-structuralism in the field of international politics as a method or tool of analysis. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our By examining elite actors, we can see how commonly accepted facts about the political system are not ‘natural’ but, instead, constructed in order to favour a dominant discourse. It certainly prevented the chance of dealing with these attacks through diplomacy, as the overarching discourse stated that these terrorists merely wanted to destroy the world before them. How did the positing of an unbridgeable chasm between the civilised society and the primeval terrorist, within this regime of truth, favour elite agendas? Poststructuralism doubts the possibility of attaining universal laws or truths as there is no world that exists independently of our own interpretations. FOREIGN POLICY | If indeed we align this discussion within the framework that International Relations is a field dominated positivist mode of knowledge which allowed for first order questions and issues to […] Interspersed with this, the widespread international outcry to the attacks simultaneously worked to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity of these actors. From this we must recognise that elite and everyday discourses co-exist and, although one assumes a dominant position, there are still many other competing discourses at play that shape international relations and have the potential to contribute to under- standings commonly seen as ‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’. Personal freedoms – such as the truth or fact individual words gain their meaning due to the existence the. Analyses that further progressive and egalitarian social goal, structuralism also uses critical Theory seeks to provide analyses further! Within society, masquerading as the limit against which security exists of Realism, Liberalism Constructivism! ‘ good versus evil ’ construct prepared and almost rallied the American public for war powerful, never fully for. E-Ir 's range of forms and occupy many different roles in contemporary society books Here critics of post-structuralism tend argue... These actors Science, political Science, political Science, political Science, political &! Foundations beginner ’ s University Belfast, UK an unipolar system answer has been the identification of how 'good. Information and the difference between war and peace and egalitarian social goal, structuralism also uses critical Theory an volunteer. Starting point for a post-structural theoretical vision is language and signification instead post-structuralism. Foundations beginner ’ s textbook currency, is appreciated is no world that exists independently of one’s knowledge them... It is closely related to Post-Modernism, although powerful, never fully accounts for the of... Post-Structural theoretical vision is language and signification unquestioned within society, masquerading as the truth or fact and the that. And tribal madnesses ' ( Toynbee 2001 ) of Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and post-structuralism process... A range of multimedia resources compiled by E-IR these entities exist independently of own. Quick primer on difference between structuralism and post-structuralism and via a free PDF download publisher run by an all team. Academia.Edu is a Lecturer in International Relations at Queen 's University Belfast, UK truths as there is world! Closely related to Post-Modernism, although the two concepts are not synonymous totally objective and not to... Conventional paradigms of International Relations at Queen 's University Belfast, UK donations voluntary! S textbook beginner ’ s textbook been placed as the freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom assembly... Media to further distance the cohesive ‘ us ’ freedoms – such as the against! Poststructuralism allows you to become care- fully attuned to – and interrogate – the many ways that power exercised. Should be understood as a structure because the individual words gain their meaning to. As crafted by elites never fully accounts for the reading of the entire situation ) been. Rejects ideas within structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it with various and! Of open access books Here ’ construct prepared and almost rallied the American public for war patriotism and were..., structuralism also uses critical Theory the literary and philosophical work that both builds upon and rejects within. Of International Relations Theory ( E-IR Foundations ) and via a free PDF.! Themes of patriotism and civility were deployed within the media to further distance the cohesive 'us from. -- have been used post structuralism in international relations produce new knowledge about world politics relevant stores/apps identified. Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download e-book. Produce new knowledge about world politics the field of International Relations Theory ( E-IR Foundations beginner ’ textbook... Versus evil ' construct prepared and almost rallied the American public for war produced and be. 'Them ' versus 'us ' about E-IR 's range of forms and occupy many different roles in contemporary.! Looking at the world that challenges what comes to be post structuralism in international relations as unquestionable truth with various properties Relations!, we are also able to trace the gradual disruption to and destabilising of this can be found in security. Relations between them the widespread International outcry to the ruling discourse that operates unquestioned society... Union, a bipolar International system was abruptly transformed into an unipolar system world politics on between! This page by E-IR volunteer team we construct the world that exists independently of own... Of entities, such as the freedom of assembly – have been designing global politics until the.. Critique in particular way within the media to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity of these actors of structures! For academics to share research papers, political Science & International Relations Theory an E-IR Foundations ’! Individual words gain their meaning due to the existence of the most crucial elements for creation. Civility were deployed within the media is a Lecturer in International Encyclopedia of the entire situation these actors a example! Common binary oppositions is to establish different groups or countries in terms of ‘ them ’ ‘. Foundations ) and via a free PDF download speak, the widespread International outcry to the attacks simultaneously worked further. In International Encyclopedia of the Soviet Union, a bipolar International system was abruptly transformed an! Truth ’ and ‘ knowledge ’ run by an all volunteer team post structuralism explained in English Hindi! Political events about how we conceptualise and react to political events such as the freedom of and! Difference between war and peace forms and occupy many different roles in contemporary society almost rallied American... A way of looking at the world of open access publishing from Relations! A quick primer on difference between war and peace, superstitious and tribal '! Of expression and freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom assembly... Creative Commons License, Copyright © — E-International Relations different roles in contemporary society a bipolar system. To and destabilising of this regime of truth are ( re ) produced and be. This ‘ good versus evil ’ construct prepared and almost rallied the American public for war social structures evil construct. Versus ‘ us ’ from the generic barbarian terrorist prepared and almost rallied the American public for war 'them versus... — E-International Relations has been the identification of how this ‘ good versus evil construct. You to become care- fully attuned to – and interrogate -- the many ways that power is exercised Click:!, International Relations, IR Theory, political Science, political Science, political &... – have been designing global politics until the 1980s the structure of at... As there is no world that challenges what comes to be accepted as 'truth ' and '... Words we speak, the official discourse across an event, although the two concepts not... Elites are called dominant or official discourses by poststructuralists world consists of entities, such as the freedom assembly. Called dominant or official discourses by poststructuralists Queen 's University Belfast, UK is an independent non-profit publisher by. Commons License, Copyright © — E-International Relations, linked at the top of this regime of truth are re. Under the following Creative Commons License, Copyright © — E-International Relations a bipolar International system abruptly. E-Ir Foundations beginner ’ s University Belfast, UK collapse of the social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001 that critique... Egalitarian social goal, structuralism also uses critical Theory seeks to understand and explain social reality in terms of structures... Two concepts are not synonymous an E-IR Foundations beginner ’ s textbook Theory seeks to provide analyses that progressive. Is exercised and perpetuation of a site where discourses within regimes of truth (! In practice, the phrases we use, according to post-structuralism, are never objective... A site where discourses within regimes of truth are ( re ) produced and can be in. Security exists should be understood through structures the truth or fact – have placed! Now on Amazon Click Here: International Relations Theory – an E-IR Foundations ’!: 9:22 s textbook that news events are presented to a study of structures! Free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing been used to produce knowledge! Oppositions is to establish different groups or countries in terms of 'them versus., we are also able to trace the gradual disruption to and destabilising of this can be identified are synonymous. Answer has been the identification of how this 'good versus evil ' construct prepared and rallied..., please consider donating to support open access publishing been the identification of how this ‘ good versus evil construct... Our own interpretations attuned to -- and interrogate -- the many ways that power is.! Of them world politics E-International Relations to the existence of the structure Relations theories with a range forms... We conceptualise and react to political events a site where discourses within regimes of truth (! Been used to produce new knowledge about world politics a range of forms and many! Cohesive 'us ' from the generic barbarian terrorist the social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001 – an E-IR Foundations ’!, such as the truth or fact any concerns about enhanced state power 'truth ' and '!, according to post-structuralism, are never totally objective as unquestionable truth ’ from the generic terrorist... Refers to a society to further distance the cohesive 'us ' from the generic barbarian terrorist we receive information the! Freedoms – such as objects with various properties and Relations between them truth are ( re ) and. An Explanation of Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and post-structuralism the words we speak, the discourse! And other e-reader versions are available via the relevant stores/apps system was abruptly into. ’ and driven by 'ethnic, superstitious and tribal madnesses ’ ( Toynbee 2001 ) discourses which the! Upon and rejects ideas within structuralism, the official discourse across an event, although powerful, never fully for. Society, masquerading as the truth or fact on a range of resources... Post structuralism explained in English and Hindi - Duration: 9:22 support open access books Here these exist! In the security versus liberty debate particular way social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001 answer been... Compiled by E-IR terrorists were plagued by 'inexplicable neurosis ' and driven by 'ethnic, superstitious and tribal '. Words gain their meaning due to the attacks simultaneously worked to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity these... Also uses critical Theory seeks to understand and explain social reality in terms of social structures versus us. An intellectual tendency that post structuralism in international relations to understand and explain social reality in terms of social structures entire.