Would 100 Global Workshops on Theory Building Make A Difference?

Abstract

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.