Black banker,white banker: philosophies of the global colour line

Critical study of the ‘global colour line’ usually begins by observing similarities between the colonial–colonized relationship on the one hand, and the developed–developing relationship on the other. Despite the dramatic historical changes in human equality over time, both relationships are sometimes qualified with reference to race and racism. This article reflects on these continuities and changes via two debates in the philosophy of race: the ‘onto-semantic’ and the ‘normative’. Each of these debates, I argue, can help international relations (IR) better understand the complex social meanings and political transformations of the global colour line. After I have made a case for the use of categories of racialization and racialized identity over the category ‘race’, I suggest that IR theorists, too, should pay more critical attention to the burgeoning literatures on racial habits and racial cognition.     

Anglobal governance?

The ‘Anglosphere’ refers to a grouping of English-speaking states, nations and societies united by the language, values and institutions associated with the historical experience of England/Britain. After being introduced in 1999–2000 at two conferences convened by the Hudson Institute, the idea of the Anglosphere has become increasingly popular with various Anglophiles and especially with Anglo-American conservatives and neoconservatives. After a brief inquiry into the broader conceptual and historical foundations of this neologism, this article considers some ways in which the Anglosphere relates to the research programme on global governance in the field of international relations (IR). Using ‘liberal imperialism’ as a theoretical starting point, the article evaluates the Anglosphere as a tool for promoting greater attention to the role of race and racism in the emergence of the structure and processes of contemporary global governance. For all its political, logical and other ambiguities, when approached as an arena of critical analysis, an Anglosphere perspective can indeed help us comprehend the development and general patterns of the racialized world order. For that reason alone, Anglobal governance should be worthy of study in IR.