Applying Bourdieu's Field Theory within International RelationsAMY MANKTELOW

Who is he?• French academic.• Born 1930 – Died

2002• Influenced by the

like of Marx, Levi-Strauss and Foucault.

• Main areas of study were Anthropology and Sociology.

• Created a number of theories and concepts throughout his career, including Field Theory.

So what is Field Theory?

“Symbolic power is that invisible power which can be exercised only with the complicity of those who do not want to know that they are subject to it or even themselves exercise it.”

BOURDIEU, 1991, LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLIC POWER, PAGE 164

A simple example of how field theory can look…

Field

Habitus

“Bourdieu helps us rediscover the everyday practices,

symbolic structures and arenas of conflict that bring many

other actors into perspective, rather than just focusing on nation states that produce (what we call) international

politics.”ADLER-NISSEN,2013, BOURDIEU IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, PAGE 1

How it works….

The EU

The UK

FranceGerman

y

The EU

So is Bourdieu really useful?•The short answer is: Yes!•The longer answer is…•Bourdieu breaks down the agency/structure paradigm by offering units of analysis. He does this by de-institutionalising the state and highlights the importance of historical struggles which in turn create social structures.

•The state is not an ridged unit of study that is static in time. The state is a continuing and dynamic process.

•Field Theory expands what we as IR researchers can call a unit of analysis. Instead of viewing actors and institutions in isolation we can actually combine them under one heading.

But what do you think?

Could Bourdieu be a useful tool?