Abstract
Despite many innovative contributions to international relations theory over the past two decades, a “common sense” view of global politics continues to persist both in the field and in the arenas of public policy and opinion. This article investigates the origins of this persistence and offers an alternative framework for the analysis of global politics that considers international relations as social relations produced by a broad array of actors in multiple spheres. Drawing on the work of Henri Lefebvre, the article investigates the role of alienation in everyday life and the resulting mystifications of the realities of global politics and goes on to consider the social spaces of work, leisure and the family as important arenas where these mystifications can be overcome and international relations be reclaimed from the realm of experts and statesmen.
Author notes
Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association and the 2000 Annual Meeting of the British International Studies Association. We would like to thank Timothy Shaw, Gigi Herbert, Marianne Franklin, Mustapha K. Pasha, Richard Milgrom, Dario Euraque, Chengiah Ragaven and Maurice Wade for their helpful comments on earlier versions; the responsibilities for what follows lie with us.
