Utilizing the ancient Indian philosophy of Advaita, the book introduces the concept of 'subject-object merger' as a novel epistemological and methodological framework. This approach aims to reinterpret and navigate the intricate dynamics of modern international politics, offering fresh insights into its complexities.
A Critical Insight into Huntington's Civilizational Approach
The book challenges the prevalent notion of a 'civilizational' clash in global politics post-9/11, particularly in the context of Afghanistan. It explores the complexities of Afghan society, which is often framed as a battle between Islamic-terrorist and secular-democratic factions. Emphasizing the urgency for a new perspective, the author advocates for alternative approaches to foster understanding and pave the way for lasting peace in a region grappling with deep-seated conflicts.
The book explores a borderless ecology of cultures, emphasizing interconnectedness at the consciousness level, contrasting with Western-centric IR theories. It critiques (neo-)Kantian philosophies that define human identities within divided worlds, instead advocating for de-Kantian philosophies like Tianxia and Advaita. These concepts promote a fluid understanding of human existence that bridges Western and non-Western perspectives. The author aims to establish guiding principles for a new world order that transcends geo-centric limitations, fostering innovative theory-building and policy-making within the Global IR framework.
The ancient Indian text of Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra comes forth as a valuable non-Western resource for understanding contemporary International Relations (IR). However, Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra largely suffers from the problem of ‘presentism’, whereby present-day assumptions of the dominant theoretical models of Classical Realism and Neorealism are read back into it, thereby disrupting open reflections on Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra which could retrieve its ‘alternative assumptions’ and ‘unconventional traits’. This book attempts to enable Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra to break free from the problem of presentism – it does so by juxtaposing the elements of continuity and change that showed up at different junctures of the life-history of both ‘ Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra ’ and ‘Eurocentric IR’. The overall exploratory venture leads to a Kautilyan non-Western eclectic theory of IR – a theory which moderately assimilates miscellaneousresearch traditions of Eurocentric IR, and, in addition, delivers a few innovative features that could potentially uplift not only Indian IR, but also Global IR.