Undisciplining IR: Beyond Mainstream International Relations

Editor

Priyanka Chandra (Editor)

ISBN: 9781041201731

Published: July 24, 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Routledge

Description

This volume celebrates the groundbreaking contributions of Prof. A.K. Ramakrishnan, whose work has redefined International Relations through critical theory, postcolonial lenses, and transdisciplinary methods. By centring the "unarticulated body" and subaltern experience, this volume invites readers to undiscipline IR—one critical perspective at a time. Challenging hegemonic narratives, the volume interrogates mainstream IR epistemologies, from Orientalist frameworks to neoliberal paradigms, while centring non-Western knowledge systems. Through themes like Political Islam, social movements, and intersectional identities, it bridges cultural studies, philosophy, and grassroots politics to reveal how West Asia's contested realities reshape global discourse. The chapters dissect pressing issues including refugee experiences, artificial intelligence in conflict, and the suppression of dissent, while theorising agency through poetry, memory, and spatiality. The volume argues for area studies as the core of IR, dismantling "great power politics" to prioritise marginalised voices and organic epistemologies of the Global South.

Key Features

Festschrift honouring a leading voice in critical IR scholarship · Brings postcolonial theory, Islamic cosmopolitanism, and subaltern studies into direct dialogue with mainstream IR · Transdisciplinary approach spanning political science, cultural studies, and philosophy · Engages urgent contemporary issues in West Asian politics and global governance · Advances area studies as a corrective to Eurocentric IR pedagogy

Coverage

Unit I – Reorienting the "Self": critical theoretical frameworks and methodologies, including spatial appropriation of ideas, Shi'i rationalism, and Islamic cosmopolitanism. Unit II – Asserting the "Self": structures and strategies in praxis, covering Arab refugee women, family law reform, AI and colonial power structures, and cosmopolitanism in Iran. Unit III – Unconventional Archives: ecological and political analysis of Palestine, settler psychopathology, and memory and liberation narratives.

About the Authors

Priyanka Chandra is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Sonepat, India. She is co-director of the research series Critical Interventions in Arts and Cultural Studies and Senior Research Fellow at IDEAS, Office of Interdisciplinary Research, JGU. She obtained her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and is the author of Postcoloniality and Statehood: The Case of Egypt (Routledge, 2026).

Table of Contents

1. On "Undisciplining" (Priyanka Chandra)
Unit I – Reorienting the "Self"
2. From Ideological Appropriations in Space to Spatial Appropriation of Ideas
3. Shi'i Rationalism through the Institution of Marji'at
4. Islamic Cosmopolitanism and Critique of Orientalist Discourses on Islam
Unit II – Asserting the "Self"
5. Arab Refugee Women: An Intersectional Analysis of Refugee Experiences
6. Family Law Reform and Inheritance Discourses in the Arab World
7. Artificial Intelligence and the Reproduction of Colonial Power Structures in West Asian Conflicts
8. Contemporary Politics and Cosmopolitanism in Iran: Lessons for IR Studies
Unit III – Unconventional Archives
9. Olive Trees, Resistance, and Colonial Contestations in Palestine
10. Symptoms and the Symptomatologists: A Study of Settler Psychopathology
11. Memory, Homeland and Text: Re-imagining Liberation through Palestinian Struggle

Why buy this book?

A rigorous, up-to-date reference for university law and politics libraries seeking critical, non-Western perspectives on International Relations. Ideal for collections supporting postcolonial studies, West Asia scholarship, and area studies programmes, and a strong addition for research centres following debates on global governance and decolonising the discipline.

Keywords

International Relations, postcolonial theory, critical IR, West Asia studies, Global South, Islamic cosmopolitanism, area studies, decolonising IR

Target Audience

Academics, policy practitioners, diplomats, think tanks, journalists, postgraduate students in International Relations and Postcolonial Studies

Genre

International Relations

Q&A

Q: What is "Undisciplining IR" about?
A: It is a festschrift honouring Prof. A.K. Ramakrishnan that uses postcolonial and critical theory to challenge mainstream International Relations epistemologies, centring West Asian and Global South perspectives.

Q: Who is this book written for?
A: Academics, postgraduate students, policy practitioners, and diplomats working in International Relations, Postcolonial Studies, and West Asia scholarship.

Q: Does the book address current geopolitical issues?
A: Yes. Chapters engage with refugee experiences, artificial intelligence in conflict, and the suppression of dissent in West Asia.

Q: What theoretical approach does the book take?
A: It draws on postcolonial theory, Islamic cosmopolitanism, and critical IR to reposition area studies at the core of the discipline.

Q: Where can I buy Undisciplining IR: Beyond Mainstream International Relations?
A: You can purchase it directly from CLNZ Books, with worldwide delivery and institutional invoicing available.

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