Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I 1760–1914
- 2 Eurocentric imperialism
- 3 Eurocentric anti-imperialism
- 4 Racist anti-imperialism
- 5 Racist imperialism
- Part II 1914–1945 The high tide of manifest Eurocentrism and the climax of scientific racism
- Part III 1945–1989 Subliminal Eurocentrism in international theory
- Part IV 1989–2010 Back to the future of manifest ‘Eurocentrism’ in mainstream international theory
- Part V Conclusion Mapping the promiscuous architecture of Eurocentrism in international theory, 1760–2010
- References
- Index
4 - Racist anti-imperialism
classical liberalism and cultural-realism, c. 1850–1914
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I 1760–1914
- 2 Eurocentric imperialism
- 3 Eurocentric anti-imperialism
- 4 Racist anti-imperialism
- 5 Racist imperialism
- Part II 1914–1945 The high tide of manifest Eurocentrism and the climax of scientific racism
- Part III 1945–1989 Subliminal Eurocentrism in international theory
- Part IV 1989–2010 Back to the future of manifest ‘Eurocentrism’ in mainstream international theory
- Part V Conclusion Mapping the promiscuous architecture of Eurocentrism in international theory, 1760–2010
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction: racial apartheid conceptions of world politics
As noted in Chapter 1, in the conventional or popular imagination scientific racism is thought to constitute the pinnacle of imperialist thought, especially in its Darwinian and Eugenicist guises with the latter often associated with Adolf Hitler. A typical characterization here has it that with the application of Darwinian science to human affairs in the nineteenth century so
[i]t became much harder to see international politics in terms of a benevolent process leading towards [an] end goal, and the international system – much like Darwin’s view of the natural world – became an arena of competition with no telos whatsoever (Keene 2005: 181).
But while this is certainly a fair summary of some parts of social Darwinism, nevertheless Herbert Spencer – often imagined as the godfather of this approach – expresses not only an anti-imperialist politics but also an optimistic, progressive teleological conception of historical development that would end with the inauguration of a peaceful world. In this particular respect, Spencer’s laissez-faire social Darwinism shares far more in common with the anti-paternalist/anti-imperialist Eurocentrism of Smith and Kant than it does with the various racist-imperialist conceptions. Paul Crook puts his finger on the acute paradox that emerges at this juncture:
Spencer and Andrew Carnegie – the fiercest of social Darwinists in popular mythology . . . were notorious pacifists, while apostles of [domestic] social co-operation like Lester Ward [an outspoken left-liberal] and Karl Pearson (an outspoken socialist) endorsed racial and global violence as the outcome of cosmic laws. Paradox abounded. Much depended upon [racist-discursive] context (Crook 1994: 29).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Eurocentric Conception of World PoliticsWestern International Theory, 1760–2010, pp. 84 - 105Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012