The Emotional Turn in International Relations: The Analysis of Emotions

Year 2023, , 119 - 137, 31.12.2023

Efser Rana Coşkun

https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1377622

Abstract

This study focuses on emotions examining traditional and critical discussions and analyses in the discipline of International Relations (IR). The investigation of emotions as an object of research in IR has been rejected for many years. However, the consideration of emotions in academic studies began in the 2000s which is termed as the “emotional turn.” With this turning point, emotions started to be addressed in different frameworks and various analyses. The literature on emotions, enriched by various analyses, offers different approaches and analyses to one of the fundamental theoretical questions in the IR discipline: “How does the world work?”. In academic studies, how emotions should generally be studied is becoming differentiated. The article's first section examines emotions' different roles in the IR. Additionally, it explains in which subfields of IR emotions can be utilized. The second section analyzes the different conceptual and theoretical debates on emotions in IR. In the third section, in response to the questions “What is an emotion?” and “How should emotions be approached?” this study presents different emotion definitions. This section analyzes different types of emotions in detail: 1) Constructivist emotion, 2) Emotion as a power element, and 3) Emotion as a societal power. Then, changes in theoretical perspectives regarding emotions will be examined. In this context, two important theoretical debates are addressed. The first shed light on the changing relationships between emotions and rationality. The second focuses on inter-subjective emotions, which have gained importance in the discipline in recent years. Consequently, by emphasizing the importance of emotions, we observe that emotions broaden our world perspective in both political and social perceptions.

Keywords

Emotions, International Relations, Emotional Turn

Uluslararası İlişkiler’de Duygusal Dönüş: Duyguların Analizi

Abstract

Bu çalışma hem geleneksel hem de eleştirel tartışmalara ve analizlere odaklanarak, Uluslararası İlişkiler (Uİ) disiplininde duyguları detaylı bir şekilde incelemektedir. Uİ’de duyguların araştırma objesi olarak çalışılması uzun yıllar boyunca reddedilmiştir. Ancak, duyguların, akademik çalışmalarda ele alınması 2000’li yıllarda başlamıştır. Bu çalışmalar, duyguları, Uİ perspektiflerine getirmeye değer araştırma objeleri olarak görmektedir. Bu yüzden, bu dönemin başlangıcı “duygusal dönüş” (emotional turn) olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Disiplinde bu dönüm noktası ile, duygular farklı çerçevelerde ve farklı analizlerde yer almaya başlamıştır. Çeşitli analizlerle beslenen duygular literatürü, Uİ disiplinindeki temel kuramsal sorulardan birisi olan, “Dünya nasıl çalışıyor?” sorusuna farklı yaklaşımlar ve analizler sağlamaktadır. Uİ alanındaki akademik çalışmalar ve tartışmalarda, duyguların genel olarak nasıl çalışılacağı farklılaşmaktadır. Makalenin birinci bölümünde Uİ disiplininde duyguların farklı rolleri incelenecektir. Ayrıca, duyguların Uİ alanında hangi alt çalışma alanlarında kullanılabildiği anlatılacaktır. İkinci bölümde, Uİ’de duyguların farklı kavramsal ve kuramsal tartışmaları analiz edilecektir. Üçüncü kısımda, “Duygu nedir?” ve “Duygu nasıl ele alınmalıdır?” sorularına cevaben, bu çalışma farklı duygu tanımlamaları ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bölüm, farklı duygu çeşitlerini detaylı bir şekilde analiz edecektir: 1) Sosyal inşacı duygu (constructivist emotion), 2) Güç öğesi olan duygu, 3) Toplumsal güç olan duygu. Çalışmanın bir sonraki bölümünde, duygulara bakışta kuramsal perspektiflerdeki değişimler irdelenecektir. Bu bağlamda, iki önemli kuramsal tartışma ele alınacaktır. Bunlardan birincisi, duygular ve rasyonalite arasında değişen ilişkilere ışık tutacaktır. İkincisi ise, disiplinde son yıllarda önem kazanan, öznelerarası (intersubjective) duygulardır. Sonuç olarak, duyguların öneminin vurgulanmasıyla hem siyasi hem de sosyal algılamalarımızda duyguların dünya perspektifimizi genişlettiğini görmekteyiz.

Keywords

Duygular, Uluslararası İlişkiler, duygusal dönüş

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