Small islands in international relations scholarship: A dialectic centrality
In the field of international relations (IR), islands are rarely considered, except in specific contexts which seldom involve dimensions conventionally considered important. Most islands, whether sovereign, semi-autonomous, or completely non-self-governing, are relegated to the margins of IR scholar...
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2023
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| Acceso en línea: | https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=8761592 |
| Fuente: | OASIS: Observatorio de Análisis de los Sistemas Internacionales, ISSN 1657-7558, Nº. 37, 2023 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Enero-Junio), pags. 7-24 |
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| Sumario: |
In the field of international relations (IR), islands are rarely considered, except in specific contexts which seldom involve dimensions conventionally considered important. Most islands, whether sovereign, semi-autonomous, or completely non-self-governing, are relegated to the margins of IR scholars. This article challenges the validity of this marginalization by presenting and examining both sovereign and non-sovereign autonomous islands as international actors. These examples illustrate the great paradox of islands, namely that throughout history, islands have functioned as pivotal points rather than as afterthoughts, and, because of that central role, islands embody syntheses of culture and politics that constitute new identities, and in some cases unique capabilities. A key example is artificial islands, which illustrate a further overlooked complexity by exerting autonomy free of sovereignty. Finally, islands, especially small island countries, both reinforce and challenge standard IR theories by being at once both self-contained and by necessity integrated globally. All of these characteristics constitute a dialectic centrality, in which islands, self-contained yet marginalized, play a central role in international relations. This article brings these islands collectively to the forefront, with a view to illustrating their currently underestimated importance in the discipline of IR as global actors. This article brings these islands collectively to the forefront, with a view to illustrating their currently underestimated importance in the discipline of IR as global actors. |
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