Introduction: Global(izing) International Relations: Studying Geo-Epistemological Divides and Diversity

In recent years, voices calling International Relations (IR) a ‘Western-centric discipline’ have become louder and a comprehensive debate about the discipline’s (un)global character has emerged. In many aspects this debate is not very different from earlier struggles for a more pluralized and reflected discipline. Consequently, in the introduction, we promote conceptualizing the current discourse on geo-epistemological divides and diversity as a new ‘Global(izing) IR Debate’ by reviewing its evolution over the past decades and drawing parallels and differences between this and earlier ones. We subsequently locate our own book within this debate by addressing a number of common approaches and trends, for example, the turn from broad criticism toward the study of particular aspects of IR scholarship beyond the West. Starting from these approaches, and against the backdrop of defining a distinct concept of ‘geo-epistemology’ for overcoming the awkward concepts of Western/non-Western, we introduce the book’s structure along two dimensions: the terrain covered (What do ‘West’ and ‘beyond’ mean in the context of our book and each chapter?) and questions asked (What do the single chapters deal with?).