From Critique to Affirmation in International Relations

This article explores the ongoing shift in IR and beyond, where critical perspectives are increasingly adopting more affirmative dispositions. The starting point is that some successors to critical theories and deconstruction are becoming more appreciative of how entanglements of human and nonhuman populations have creative potential. That is, today critique ceases to be about contesting the inner contradictions or limits of a given order and instead embraces existing multiple assemblages and feedback loops as enabling forces. The article serves as an introduction to the Special Issue ‘Critique and Affirmation in IR’, in which authors reflect on the unforeseen trajectory of critiques and problematise the risks and shadows of affirmation.