The futures of ethics and international relations

Even a cursory glance through the many excellent chapters contained in this volume reveals one thing for sure: the study of ethics and international relations (IR) has no future; it has several. From its contested history, superbly summarised by Kimberly Hutchings, to its disputed present, the chapters demonstrate the plethora of approaches, foci, methodologies and ontologies that now comprise this burgeoning field. And this is without considering those approaches and issues that were not included in this volume (such as a focus on disability ¹ or a contribution from Queer theory ² ). Editing is unavoidably violent and exclusionary, after all; summarising a field is necessarily a ‘falsification in process’. ³ What is particularly encouraging is that throughout this volume, there is little trace of the cosmopolitanism versus communitarianism framing device that became so influential in the 1990s. ⁴ Whilst the motivating tension between universalism and particularism remains, it no longer stifles a field which, as Beate Jahn’s chapter points out, is characterised by fragmentation rather than unity. This diversification and absence of overarching and limiting frames is a sure sign that the health of, and widespread interest in, the field of ethics and international relations is here to stay. The ethical ‘turn’ is one that has certainly been taken, but in a variety of directions.