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Politics, Power, and the 'Language of Wider Communication': The Hegemony of English in International Relations
Unformatted Document Text:  1 Global Politics, Power, and the "Language of Wider Communication": Mapping the Hegemony of English in the World Capitalist System Within the political science sub-discipline of international relations (IR), scholars have long been dismissive of the importance of language (Beer and De Landtsheer 3). Yet, as Beers and De Landtsheer point out, from the time of Thucydides IR theorists’ views have come to us through the medium of the written text. Beers and De Landtsheer are not alone in highlighting the potentially important role that language plays in international relations. Comar, Johnstone, Paris, and Schimmelfennig are among those within the field who have focused on the variety of ways in which human communication, language, mediation and interpretation have come to bear on the IR system and its actors. Their work represents a fruitful development in IR inquiry, what Beers and De Landtsheer refer to as “the rhetorical turn.” This “turn” draws attention to the crucial role language plays vis-a-vis one of the central concerns of IR scholarship: global relations of power. This paper seeks to push the “the rhetorical turn” in IR further. Taking my initial cue from Beers and De Landtsheer, who assert that, “The question is not whether or not words are important, but rather how words matter” (6), I ask not how words matter, but how language and communication matter. I explore this larger question and its potential utility with respect to a more complete understanding of general relations of power within the IR system by way of a more specific question: how does the so-called “language of wider communication” matter in IR? 1 That language is English. Among other global domains, English is the either the de facto or official working language of: international organizations and conferences, scientific publication, 1 I place quotation marks around this term to underscore the ways in which the term itself can potentially be seen as being implicated in the hegemonic global position of English. Among other things, “language of wider

Authors: Demont-Heinrich, Christof.
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1
Global Politics, Power, and the "Language of Wider Communication":
Mapping the Hegemony of English in the World Capitalist System
Within the political science sub-discipline of international relations (IR), scholars have
long been dismissive of the importance of language (Beer and De Landtsheer 3). Yet, as Beers
and De Landtsheer point out, from the time of Thucydides IR theorists’ views have come to us
through the medium of the written text. Beers and De Landtsheer are not alone in highlighting
the potentially important role that language plays in international relations. Comar, Johnstone,
Paris, and Schimmelfennig are among those within the field who have focused on the variety of
ways in which human communication, language, mediation and interpretation have come to bear
on the IR system and its actors. Their work represents a fruitful development in IR inquiry, what
Beers and De Landtsheer refer to as “the rhetorical turn.” This “turn” draws attention to the
crucial role language plays vis-a-vis one of the central concerns of IR scholarship: global
relations of power.
This paper seeks to push the “the rhetorical turn” in IR further. Taking my initial cue
from Beers and De Landtsheer, who assert that, “The question is not whether or not words are
important, but rather how words matter” (6), I ask not how words matter, but how language and
communication matter. I explore this larger question and its potential utility with respect to a
more complete understanding of general relations of power within the IR system by way of a
more specific question: how does the so-called “language of wider communication” matter in
IR?
1
That language is English. Among other global domains, English is the either the de facto or
official working language of: international organizations and conferences, scientific publication,
1
I place quotation marks around this term to underscore the ways in which the term itself can potentially be seen as
being implicated in the hegemonic global position of English. Among other things, “language of wider


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