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The paper rests on the assumption that theoretical knowledge is valuable.
However, such an assumption cannot be taken for granted. Indeed the first
objective is to examine the comparative advantages of theoretical knowledge.
Second, if 100 theory building workshops would make a difference, what exactly
would the difference be? After all, movie production is said to be dominated by
Hollywood but Bollywood produces more movies than Hollywood. Nonetheless,
the world market is dominated by Hollywood. Hence, if a distinction between
academic domestic and global markets is applied, theory building for a
number of domestic or regional markets might impact ‘consumption’ patterns
in domestic or regional markets but not necessarily the world market.
Moreover, the apparent need for 100 workshops rests on the assumption that
the IR discipline is under American hegemony but this assumption is severely
challenged by empirical research showing that American hegemony remains
a fact in institutional terms but not in terms of theoretical fads and debates
being followed in the rest of the world. In short, intellectual global hegemony
is largely a chimera. Finally, the paper argues that 100 workshops might be
necessary but could turn out to be waste of time and for two reasons. While
theorizing a bygone world is fine, the workshops should address contemporary
issues and be future-oriented. Furthermore, the workshops should contribute to
redefine the (contested) core of the discipline.