Former Fellow

Lucian Ashworth

Full Professor and Head of Department, Department of Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN)

Research project title:
Missing voices in the history of international thought. A critical re-evaluation of global thinking since 1880

Abstract
International thought of the last century and a half is not exhausted by what is remembered by the academic field of International Relations (IR). Indeed, IR itself even tends to forget large parts of its own past theorizing.
This project looks at how several of these lost narratives have been recovered in IR, with particular emphasis on lost approaches dealing with political economy, political geography, feminism, race and imperialism. This includes approaches outside of the English speaking world. I am particularly interested in how the recovery of past approaches affects our interpretations of both the origins and the nature of IR and international thought.

Events:
6July 2018
Workshop “The Hundred Years’ Crisis: Global Order in Historical Perspective”

  • Biografische Angaben

    Lucian M. Ashworth is a professor in political science at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's Canada. He is an International Relations (IR) scholar, and his main area of interest is the history of international thought. He has published widely on the topics of international thought and the disciplinary history of IR. His latest book is A History of International Thought (Routledge, 2014), and he is currently working on a new book for Routledge provisionally titled International Relations in the Stream of Time, which will be published in 2019.
  • Publikationen

    Lucian M. Ashworth, A History of International Thought. From the Origins of the Modern State to Academic International Relations (London: Routledge, 2014). International Relations Theory and the Labour Party: Intellectuals and Policy Making 1918-1945 (London: IBTauris, 2007). Creating International Studies. Angell, Mitrany and the Liberal Tradition (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999). (Edited with David Long) New Perspectives on International Functionalism (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999). Lucian M. Ashworth, Mapping a New World: Geography and the Interwar Study of International Relations. International Studies Quarterly, March 2013, 57(1), 138–149. Lucian M. Ashworth, “The Poverty of Paradigms: Subcultures, Trading Zones and the Case of Liberal Socialism in Interwar International Relations”, International Relations, March 2012, vol. 26 no. 1, 35-59. “Realism and the Spirit of 1919: Halford Mackinder, Geopolitics, and the Reality of the League of Nations”, European Journal of International Relations, June 2011, 17(2), 279-301.

News from the research center

Event
27./28.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Reconsidering Legal Subjectivity In and Through the Anthropocene

Conference

Internationale Konferenz organisiert vom Wissenschaftsnetzwerk Recht im Anthropozän (RiA) in Kooperation mit dem Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen.

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Event
06.11.2025 | Brussels

Menschenrechte unter Druck: Wie kann die EU zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement in Zeiten globaler Machtverschiebungen stärken?

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Zivilgesellschaftliche Akteure, die sich für Menschenrechte einsetzen, sehen sich nicht nur in autoritären Staaten zunehmender politischer Gewalt ausgesetzt – seien es rechtliche Einschränkungen, digitale Eingriffe wie Internetshutdowns oder physische, gar tödliche Gewalt. Die EU bekennt sich zum Schutz der Menschenrechte und unterstützt zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen. Doch wie wirksam sind diese Maßnahmen? Dieser Crisis Talk bringt politische, wissenschaftliche und zivilgesellschaftliche Perspektiven zusammen.

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News
23.10.2025

Vinzenz Hediger becomes new director of the Cinémathèque suisse

Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Hediger will become Director of the Cinémathèque suisse in Lausanne from January 2026. The Cinémathèque suisse has been preserving, restoring and promoting Swiss and international film heritage since 1948. It is recognized by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) as one of the ten most important cinematheques in the world - due to the size, diversity and quality of its collections.

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News
23.10.2025

Book launch of Lea Ypis "Indignity. A Life Reimagined" at the Frankfurt Book Fair

As part of the book presentation of Lea Ypis "Indignity. A Life Reimagined" on October 15, questions about dignity, identity, freedom and responsibility in times of extreme historical change were discussed.

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Publication
23.10.2025 | Monograph

Exemplarity in Global Politics

Noyes, Dorothy; Wille, Tobias (2025): Exemplarity in Global Politics. Bristol University Press. (Link)

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Event
15.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Bedingt einsatzbereit – Wehrdienst und die Pflicht zum Dienst am Staat

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Ein Gespenst geht wieder um in Deutschland – 2026 kommt der Wehrdienst zurück „Zunächst freiwillig“, wie es heißt. Angesichts der veränderten Sicherheitslage in Europa seit dem russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine ist die Frage nach der "Kriegstüchtigkeit" wieder aktuell – und mit ihr die Frage, was Einzelne für den Staat leisten sollen.

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Event
06./07.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Kolja Möller - Volk und Elite

Workshop

Workshop zum "Buch Volk und Elite - Eine Gesellschaftstheorie des Populismus" von Kolja Möller

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Publication
01.10.2025 | Encyclopedia

Moralisieren

Schmelzle, Cord (2025): „Moralisieren“. In: Pollmann, Anna; Möllmann, Christopher: Schlüsselbegriffe gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalts. Ein kritisches Vokabular, Wallstein, S. 544–561.

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Publication
01.10.2025 | Anthology

Dis.Ordering Distribution. Infrastructures, Formats and Practices in the Circulation of Culture.

Storz, Cornelia; Hediger, Vinzenz; Krings, Matthias (eds.) (2025): Dis.Ordering Distribution. Infrastructures, Formats and Practices in the Circulation of Culture. Emerald Publishing.

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