The ontological question in International Relations: towards a generic description of the unit, with reference to the case of the Islamic caliphate

Abstract

Over recent years evidence has appeared in the literature on International Relations theory of a desire for a clearer specification of the collective actor. Discussion surrounding collective actors and their relationship to structure connects three important areas of scholarly debate about global politics: the question of the relative weight given to ideational and material considerations; the agent-structure problem; and, the levels of analysis question. Formerly, the easy assumption was made that states were the actors in global politics. This axiom served to restrict and define the field of International Relations, but was always more of an arbitrary decision than a rigorous conclusion. In more recent times a range of circumstances has caused scholars to question this simple schema. Other ways of dividing up the world have gained influence. ... This thesis will examine whether some useful resources for the task may be found outside International Relations. Potentially fruitful areas lie in the work on social reality led by John Searle, in sociological ontology, a good representative being Margaret Gilbert's work, and in evolutionary theory. Scholars have begun to apply ideas from these fields to International Relations. This thesis adds to that work. It emphasises the relationship of Searle's thinking to the workings of evolution, and seeks to apply this insight to global political ontology and to a particular, practical question of grand strategy, involving a challenge to the global system of states.