Einar Wigen – författare

International politics often requires two or more languages. The resulting interlingual relations mean translation, either by interpreters who are quite literally in the middle of conversations, or by bilingual statesmen who negotiate internationally in one language and then legitimize domestically in another. Since no two languages are the same, what can be argued in one language may be impossible in another. Political concepts can thus be significantly reformulated in the translation process. State of Translation examines this phenomenon using the case of how 19th-century Ottoman and later Turkish statesmen struggled to reconcile their arguments in external languages (French, then English) with those in their internal language (Ottoman, later Turkish), and in the process further entangled them. Einar Wigen shows how this process structured social relations between the Ottoman state and its interlocutors, both domestically and internationally, and shaped the dynamics of Turkish relations with Europe.

This book engages with the work of Iver B. Neumann, demonstrating the past, present, and future importance of his work as a central IR scholar who set a path for younger researchers to make sense of international relations beyond traditional bounds.

By closely examining his work, some of the leading contemporary political scientists reflect on the eclecticism that embodies Neumann’s theorisation. Expert contributors engage in a critical review of his work on identity, practice theory, discourse, knowledge production, mentoring, and methodology, looking beyond the person to say something about the state of the field and the craft of research altogether. These reflections engage in critical assessment of the state of International Relations as a discipline, taking stock of theoretical and methodological challenges that scholars face, and reviewing the changes and continuities in knowledge production within social sciences.

This book would be of interest to students, researchers, and educators working on themes of diplomacy, anthropology, popular culture, identity, foreign policy, and knowledge production and introducing them to the state of the discipline, key texts, and key developments over the past 30 years.

This book engages with the work of Iver B. Neumann, demonstrating the past, present, and future importance of his work as a central IR scholar who set a path for younger researchers to make sense of international relations beyond traditional bounds.

By closely examining his work, some of the leading contemporary political scientists reflect on the eclecticism that embodies Neumann’s theorisation. Expert contributors engage in a critical review of his work on identity, practice theory, discourse, knowledge production, mentoring, and methodology, looking beyond the person to say something about the state of the field and the craft of research altogether. These reflections engage in critical assessment of the state of International Relations as a discipline, taking stock of theoretical and methodological challenges that scholars face, and reviewing the changes and continuities in knowledge production within social sciences.

This book would be of interest to students, researchers, and educators working on themes of diplomacy, anthropology, popular culture, identity, foreign policy, and knowledge production and introducing them to the state of the discipline, key texts, and key developments over the past 30 years.