International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’?
| dc.contributor.author | Smith, Karen | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-09-07T09:19:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-09-07T09:19:39Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This article presents a reflection on the state of the discipline of International Relations (IR) in South Africa, focusing specifically on questions about its theoretical content and ‘Africanness’. The country’s unique history continues to have a significant impact on the development of the discipline and the type of research conducted, with security and foreign policy remaining the core of the field. It is contended that, despite significant advancements over the past decade, the discipline remains theoretically underdeveloped. The demand of policy relevance that continues to constrain scholars is viewed as one of the main contributing factors to this state of affairs, and is discussed in some detail. While the subject matter of IR in South Africa—both in terms of research and teaching—is predominantly African, the approach—both theoretically and methodologically, remains largely western-centric. South African scholars are challenged to problematise existing understandings of IR and to interrogate the applicability of western-centric concepts and theories to Africa. | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier | 10.1080/02589346.2013.856565 | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Smith, K. (2013). International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’?. <i>Politikon</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21716 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Smith, Karen "International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’?." <i>Politikon</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21716 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Smith, K. (2013). International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’?. Politikon, 40(3), 533-544. | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0258-9346 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Journal Article AU - Smith, Karen AB - This article presents a reflection on the state of the discipline of International Relations (IR) in South Africa, focusing specifically on questions about its theoretical content and ‘Africanness’. The country’s unique history continues to have a significant impact on the development of the discipline and the type of research conducted, with security and foreign policy remaining the core of the field. It is contended that, despite significant advancements over the past decade, the discipline remains theoretically underdeveloped. The demand of policy relevance that continues to constrain scholars is viewed as one of the main contributing factors to this state of affairs, and is discussed in some detail. While the subject matter of IR in South Africa—both in terms of research and teaching—is predominantly African, the approach—both theoretically and methodologically, remains largely western-centric. South African scholars are challenged to problematise existing understandings of IR and to interrogate the applicability of western-centric concepts and theories to Africa. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1080/02589346.2013.856565 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Politikon LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 SM - 0258-9346 T1 - International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’? TI - International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21716 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21716 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2013.856565 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Smith K. International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’?. Politikon. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21716. | en_ZA |
| dc.language | eng | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Taylor & Francis | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher.department | Department of Political Studies | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Humanities | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.source | Politikon | en_ZA |
| dc.source.uri | http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cpsa20/current | |
| dc.title | International Relations in South Africa: A Case of ‘Add Africa and Stir’? | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Journal Article | en_ZA |
| uct.type.filetype | Text | |
| uct.type.filetype | Image | |
| uct.type.publication | Research | en_ZA |
| uct.type.resource | Article | en_ZA |