The Politics of Translation in International Relations

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. The Politics of Translation in International Relations

   • Zeynep Gulsah Capan, Filipe dos Reis, Maj Grasten

   Pages 1-19

3. Translation and the Politics of (Disciplinary) Language

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Gavagai? The International Politics of Translation

      • Benjamin Herborth

      Pages 23-41

   3. Conceptual Debates in IR and the Spectre of Polysemy: Intralingual Challenges and the Promise of Translation

      • Torsten Michel

      Pages 43-65

   4. Remaking the Law of Encounter: Comparative International Law as Transformative Translation

      • Miriam Bak McKenna

      Pages 67-86

4. Translating Across Fields of Practice

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

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   2. Fashioning the Other: Fashion as an Epistemology of Translation

      • Andreas Behnke

      Pages 89-110

   3. De/Colonising Through Translation? Rethinking the Politics of Translation in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

      • Rahel Kunz

      Pages 111-129

   4. Translating Critique: Civil Society and the Politicisation of Financial Regulation

      • Benjamin Wilhelm

      Pages 131-149

   5. Social Movements and Translation

      • Nicole Doerr

      Pages 151-171

5. Translating International Relations (IR)

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 173-173

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   2. English and the Legacy of Linguistic Domination in IR

      • Shogo Suzuki

      Pages 175-198

   3. On the Power of Translation and the Translation of ‘Power’: A Translingual Concept Analysis

      • Ariel Shangguan

      Pages 199-218

   4. Anarchy is What Translators Make of It? Translating Theory and Translation Theories

      • Fatmanur Kaçar

      Pages 219-234

6. Reflections

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 235-235

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   2. The Contingency of Translation

      • Oliver Kessler

      Pages 237-243

   3. On the ‘Does Theory Travel?’ Question: Traveling with Edward Said

      • Pinar Bilgin

      Pages 245-255

7. Back Matter

   Pages 257-266

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This volume concerns the role and nature of translation in global politics. Through the establishment of trade routes, the encounter with the ‘New World’, and the circulation of concepts and norms across global space, meaning making and social connections have unfolded through practices of translating. While translation is core to international relations it has been relatively neglected in the discipline of International Relations. The Politics of Translation in International Relations remedies this neglect to suggest an understanding of translation that transcends language to encompass a broad range of recurrent social and political practices. The volume provides a wide variety of case studies, including financial regulation, gender training programs, and grassroot movements. Contributors situate the politics of translation in the theoretical and methodological landscape of International Relations, encompassing feminist theory, de- and post-colonial theory, hermeneutics, post-structuralism, critical constructivism, semiotics, conceptual history, actor-network theory and translation studies. The Politics of Translation in International Relations furthers and intensifies a cross-disciplinary dialogue on how translation makes international relations.

• Politics of translation
• International relations
• IR
• global orders
• Language
• Power
• Subjectivity
• Language in international relations
• Translating Across Fields of Practice

“Overall, the book is an exceptional contribution to existing literature on several counts. ... it effectively demonstrates that translation ... . the use of carefully selected case studies from a range of IR sub domains successfully anchors the book's ambitious theoretical reach and scope. Overall, an interesting and recommended read for all scholars in the field of language and politics." (Kanglong Liu, Journal of Language and Politics, Vol. 21 (1), 2022)

• Faculty of Law, Social Sciences & Economics, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany

  Zeynep Gulsah Capan

• Department of International Relations and International Organization, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

  Filipe dos Reis

• Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark

  Maj Grasten

Zeynep Gulsah Capan is Lecturer at the University of Erfurt, Germany. Her research focuses on history and historiography, de- and postcolonial thought, and Eurocentrism.

Filipe dos Reis is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations and International Organization, University of Groningen, Netherlands. His current research focuses on the history and politics of international law, imperial Germany, and maps.

Maj Grasten is Assistant Professor at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Her research sits at the intersection of Socio-Legal Studies and Global Governance, with particular focus on international organizations and legal bodies, experts and knowledge production in international law, and the legal foundations of markets.