Katherine Schick PhD thesis

262 Pages·2008·1.25 MB·English

TRAUMA AND THE ETHICAL IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Katherine Anne Schick
A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD
at the
University of St. Andrews
2008
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TRAUMA AND THE ETHICAL IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Katherine Anne Schick

School of International Relations
University of St Andrews

Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
25 April 2008
I, Katherine Anne Schick, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 72,000 words
in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has
not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree.

I was admitted as a research student in September 2004 and as a candidate for the degree of
PhD in September 2004; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the
University of St. Andrews between 2004 and 2008.

Date: Signature of candidate:

I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and
Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St. Andrews and that the
candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree.

Date: Signature of supervisor:

The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of
this thesis: access to printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St
Andrews.

Date: Signature of candidate:

Signature of supervisor:
ABSTRACT
The suffering that initially prompts ethical reflection is frequently forgotten in the generalised
rational response of much contemporary International Relations theory. This thesis draws on
Theodor W. Adorno and Gillian Rose to propose an alternative approach to suffering in world
politics.

Adorno argues suffering and trauma play a key role in the task of enlightening Enlightenment.
They emphasise the concrete particularity of human existence in a way that is radically
challenging to Enlightenment thought. Understanding suffering helps to drive a negative
dialectics that preserves the non-identical (that which cannot be understood, manipulated or
controlled by reason), holding it up against the instrumentalism and abstraction that have
prevented Enlightenment thought from fulfilling its promise.

Part One reviews contemporary approaches to international ethics in a way that draws out
their affinity with the Enlightenment thought Adorno criticises. Despite their variety, liberal
and Habermasian approaches to international ethics tend to be rational and problem-solving,
to assume moral progress, to underestimate the importance of history and culture, and to
neglect inner lives. They approach ethics in a way that pays too little attention to the social,
historical, and cultural antecedents of suffering and therefore promotes solutions that, whilst
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in some ways inspiring, are too disconnected from the suffering they seek to address to be
effective in practice.

Part Two deepens the critique of modern ethics through an exposition of Adorno’s work. It
then draws on Adorno’s conception of promise, Rose’s writing on mourning and political risk,
and a broader literature on ways of working through trauma to propose an alternative way of
being in the world with ethical and political implications. I advocate a neo-Hegelian work of
mourning, which deepens understanding of the complexities of violence and informs a
difficult, tentative, anxiety-ridden taking of political risk in pursuit of a good enough justice.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the New Zealand
Tertiary Education Commission for generously financing my MLitt and PhD study at the
University of St Andrews. I am also grateful to St Deiniol(cid:146)s Library for funding a much
needed retreat whilst in the throes of writing up.

This thesis has benefitted from the input and support of numerous mentors and friends. I owe
a debt of gratitude to Professor Nicholas Rengger, for the inspirational teaching that prompted
me to embark on this project, and for his encouragement throughout the writing process. My
thanks also go to Dr Anthony Lang, for going beyond the call of duty in his role as secondary
supervisor. I am grateful to Professor John Milbank, Professor Chandra Sriram, Dr Brent
Steele, Sarah-Eva Carlson, Melanie Lewis, and Stephanie Thirkell-White for their substantive
engagement with earlier versions of the text, and to Roderick Thirkell-White, Bronwyn
Schick, and Amy Rollins for their careful editing. I am also grateful to my parents, Terry and
Bronwyn Schick, for bridging the financial gap as I began the PhD, sans funding, and for their
belief that it would not remain so for long. Finally, I would like to thank Ben Thirkell-White,
my harshest critic, for his unstinting support and encouragement throughout this journey. I
dedicate this thesis to him.

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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III
INTRODUCTION 1
Modern International Ethics and its Weaknesses 1
An Alternative Approach to Ethics 9
Brief Outline of Chapters 11
PART ONE 16
1 THE NORMATIVE TURN IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 17
Geuss and Modern Ethical Thought 20
Modern Ethics: From the Domestic to the International 21
Limitations of Modern International Ethics 27
Conclusion 46
2 THE CRITICAL TURN IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 51
Habermas and Critical International Political Thought 54
Habermas and the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory 54
Habermas and Critical International Political Thought 59
Revisiting the Limitations of Modern International Ethics 63
Conclusion 79

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Poststructural International Political Thought 80
Questioning Settled Assumptions 84
Identity/Difference 88
Poststructuralism: Shortcomings 90
Conclusion 93
PART TWO 96
INTRODUCTION 97
3 ADORNO, SUFFERING, AND PROMISE 102
Adorno and the Critique of Enlightenment 104
Adorno and Suffering 117
Negative Dialectics 118
Promise 125
Conclusion 129
4 GILLIAN ROSE: FROM DIALECTICAL TO SPECULATIVE THOUGHT 133
Rose and the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory 135
From Dialectics to Speculative Thought 139
Hegel Contra Kant 143
The Broken Middle 147
Mourning and Political Risk: A Response to the Brokenness of Modernity 158
Conclusion 169

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5 ACTING OUT AND WORKING THROUGH: TRAUMA AND THE INTERNATIONAL 172
Trauma: Socio-Historical Reflections 176
Responses to Trauma: Acting Out 181
Responses to Trauma: Working Through 189
Conclusion 204
6 CONCLUSION 207
Revisiting the Limitations of Modern International Ethics 211
Revisiting Poststructuralism 219
Further Applications of Speculative Thought 223
Refugees and Asylum-Seekers 226
Education 230
Towards a Speculative International Political Thought? 236
BIBLIOGRAPHY 239
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INTRODUCTION
Violence and suffering are rife in global politics. In this thesis, I examine and critique the
normative responses to suffering in mainstream and critical international political thought. I
argue that ethical reflection in International Relations is prompted by global suffering, but the
suffering that initially prompts reflection is forgotten in the generalised, rational response. I
draw on the thought of Theodor W. Adorno and Gillian Rose to suggest an alternative way of
thinking about and responding to violence and suffering. Unless traumatic experiences are
worked through, they trigger either withdrawal from political engagement or a search for
revenge and further violence. I advocate mourning and critical reflection in response to
trauma and suffering to enable social and political reengagement in life. Such a response is a
significant shift in focus from mainstream responses to violence, which skim over past and
present suffering in an attempt to legislate a halt to cycles of violence; instead, it
acknowledges the historical and structural antecedents of present realities, allowing space for
grieving and reflection rather than rushing too quickly to solutions.
Modern International Ethics and its Weaknesses
In the early years of International Relations, a realist paradigm dominated the field. Realist
thinkers such as E. H. Carr and Hans Morgenthau perceived the international system as
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