Restraint in International Politics: A Conversation between Brent Steele and Christopher Peys

Authors

  • Christopher Peys University of St Andrews
  • Brent J. Steele University of Utah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15664/jtr.1593

Keywords:

Restraint, Actionism, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, Climate Change

Abstract

Taking into account the turbulent sociopolitical events of the first half of 2020, this discussion piece evaluates the theory of restraint presented in Brent Steele’s 2019 book, Restraint in International Politics. A conversation between Steele and Christopher Peys about the ‘politics of restraint’, this article examines the socio-psychological ‘complexes’ of actionism and restraint, and addresses a series of queries about both the limitations and possibilities of restraint, before examining Steele’s theory in the emerging context of our world’s recent race-related events, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the international community’s inability to confront the threat of widespread, human-induced environmental degradation.

Author Biographies

Christopher Peys, University of St Andrews

Christopher Peys is an international political theorist whose work revolves around questions of ethics, politics and the possibilities of political friendship. He is the author of Reconsidering Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness: Arendt, Derrida, and 'Care for the World' (2020).

Brent J. Steele, University of Utah

Brent J. Steele is the Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah. His research focuses within International Relations on International Ethics and International Security.

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Published

2021-04-29

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2020): Contemporary Voices

Section

Online First

License

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