Pluralising International Relations?with the Global IR Agenda

Abstract

How global is International Relations really? The discipline of International Relations (IR) has long been criticised for its Eurocentric foundations and perspectives. At the International Studies Association (ISA) Convention in 2014, the ISA President, Amitav Acharya, promoted the novel Global IR agenda. Constituted of six dimensions, the Agenda seeks to globalise the IR discipline. This article will first define International Relations, linking a broad definition to the root of Eurocentrism within the discipline. It provides three reasons as to how Eurocentrism remains a problem for the IR discipline. It will then outline the six dimensions of the Global IR Agenda: (i) pluralistic universalism; (ii) a grounding in world history; (iii)?integration of Western and non-Western theories; (iv)?integration of regionalism and area studies; (v)?renouncing of exceptionalism; (vi)?and?recognising multiple forms of agency. A brief evaluation of the Agenda suggests there are at least five potential obstacles for Global IR. The objective of this article is to promote the Global IR Agenda in its attempt to make the IR discipline more inclusive for ideas, scholars, and regions.