This book examines the crossroads of quantum and critical approaches to International Relations and argues that these approaches share a common project of uncovering complexity and uncertainty. The “quantum turn” in International Relations theory has produced a number of interesting insights into the complex ways in which our assumptions about the physics of the world around us can limit our understanding of social life. While critique is possible within a Newtonian social science, core assumptions of separability and determinism of classical physics impose limits on what is imaginable. The author argues that by adopting a quantum imaginary, social theory can move beyond its Newtonian limits, and explore two methods for quantizing conceptual models—translation and application. This book is the first introductory book to quantum social theory ideas specifically intended for an audience of critical International Relations.
Table of Content
Chapter 1.
Introduction: Uncertainty, Paradoxes, and Critical Intuition.- Part 1: From the Laboratory to the Social World.- Chapter 2
– Quantum Mechanics for Social Scientists: Wave/Particle Duality, Observer Effect, Entanglement.- Chapter 3
– Analogy or Actuality? How Social Scientists Are Taking the Quantum Leap.- Part 2: Quantizing Critique through Translation and Application.- Chapter 4.
Translating on Common Ground: Borders, Autoethnography, Assemblages.- Chapter 5.
Applying a Quantum Imaginary: The Example of “Quactor”-Network Theory.- Chapter 6.
Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions.
About the author
Michael P. A. Murphy is a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow in International Relations and Political Theory at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He has published over a dozen peer-reviewed articles in journals such as
Contemporary Security Policy, International Relations, the
Journal of International Political Theory, and
Critical Studies on Security.
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