Abstract
Christian Reus-Smit is one of the leading experts on international theory, history, and international law. He has pioneered new conceptualizations of individual rights and political legitimacy in the development of international orders, generating innovative debates around concepts of legitimacy, power and social and political theory at the intersection of international relations. This chapter details a 30-minute conversation between Reus-Smit and Constance Duncombe in his office in the School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland in August 2017, which explored how technology has both informed his work and how he understands its social and cultural underpinnings. In this conversation Reus-Smit discusses technology as a material artefact and its role in transformative change of the international order. Key here is the insight that how we conceptualize technology, including social media, matters for how we understand its material and ideational power. Reus-Smit’s principal innovation is to see technology not just as a social artefact, but also as congealed ideas.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Works Referenced
Buzan, B., & Lawson, G. (2015). The global transformation: History, modernity and the making of international relations. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gilpin, R. (1981). War and change in world politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gilpin, R. (1987). The political economy of international relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Phillips, A. (2016). The global transformation, multiple early modernities, and international systems change. International Theory, 8, 481–491.
Phillips, A., & Sharman, J. (2015). International order in diversity: War, trade and rule in the Indian Ocean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Price, R., & Reus-Smit, C. (1998). Dangerous liaisons? Critical international theory and constructivism. European Journal of International Relations, 4, 259–294.
Reus-Smit, C. (1989). Arms control, nuclear strategy and Australian foreign policy: The Fraser years. Global Change, Peace & Security, 1, 57–73.
Reus-Smit, C. (1997). The constitutional structure of international society and the nature of fundamental institutions. International Organization, 51, 555–589.
Reus-Smit, C. (1999). The moral purpose of the state: Culture, social identity, and institutional rationality in international relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Reus-Smit, C. (2001). Human rights and the social construction of sovereignty. Review of International Studies, 27, 519–538.
Reus-Smit, C. (2004). American power and world order. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Reus-Smit, C. (2007). International crises of legitimacy. International Politics, 44, 157–174.
Reus-Smit, C. (2011). Struggles for individual rights and the expansion of the international system. International Organization, 65, 207–242.
Reus-Smit, C. (2012). International Relations, irrelevant? Don’t blame theory. Millennium, 40, 525–540.
Reus-Smit, C. (2013). Individual rights and the making of the international system. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reus-Smit, C. (2017). ‘Cultural diversity and international order’, International organization. In T. Dunne & C. Reus-Smit (Eds.), The globalization of international society (pp. 1–35). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Duncombe, C., Reus-Smit, C. (2019). Culture, Diversity and Technology. In: Kaltofen, C., Carr, M., Acuto, M. (eds) Technologies of International Relations . Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97418-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97418-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97417-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97418-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)