Our International Relations speaker series hosts Dr. Elham Gharji (Carleton University) for a lecture titled, “Regionalizing International Society: the English School Theory and International Politics in Eurasia.”
Abstract
After being neglected for years, the English School Theory (EST) of IR is making a comeback to re-claim its central position in the IR theory spectrum. From emerging new literature to dedicated panels on the EST in major IR conferences lately, scholarly interest in the EST is just growing. A key analytical development in the EST in recent years is the concept of ‘regional international societies’ as opposed to the singular concept of ‘international society’. The concept allows us to think of international societies in plural form, paying attention to regional peculiarities and variations in constituting norms of international order(s) across different regions of the world. As such, it offers new ways of thinking about order in the age of multi-polarity, regionalization and competing visions for global governance amid declining liberal international order. Looking at Central Asia/post-Soviet space as a case, this lecture interrogates the concept of regional international societies and its analytical and empirical promise.
Bio
Dr. Elham Gharji received his PhD with distinction (Magna Cum Laude) in International Politics and Conflict Resolution from the University of Coimbra in Portugal in 2021. Elham has taught subjects in IR and Central Asian politics in Afghanistan and has guest-lectured at various universities in Europe and North America. He has been a Davis Center fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, and a Visiting Fellow at the Center on Governance at the University of Ottawa, among others. He is currently based at Carleton University, researching and coordinating the research component of an IDRC-funded collaborative project involving Carleton U and UBC, and supporting at-risk scholars, activists and students from Afghanistan.
Please RSVP below to attend.