Sufism: A Theoretical Intervention in Global International Relations(Global Dialogues: Non Eurocentric Visions of the Global)

In an effort to attain a ‘global’ character, the contemporary academic discipline of International Relations (IR) increasingly seeks to surpass its Eurocentric limits, thereby opening up pathways to incorporate non-Eurocentric worldviews. Lately, many of the non-Eurocentric worldviews have emerged which either engender a ‘derivative’ discourse of the same Eurocentric IR theories, or construct an ‘exceptionalist’ discourse which is particularly applicable to the narrow experiential realities of a native time-space zone: as such, they fall short of the ambition to produce a genuinely ‘non-derivative’ and ‘non-exceptionalist’ Global IR theory. Against this backdrop, Sufism: A Theoretical Intervention in Global International Relations performs a multidisciplinary research to explore how ‘Sufism’ – as an established non-Western philosophy with a remarkable temporal-spatial spread across the globe – facilitates a creative intervention in the theoretical understanding of Global IR.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. The Entry of Sufism into Global IR: A Move Beyond the State-of-the-Art, Deepshikha Shahi Part I: Sufism and Global IR 2. Al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Arabi and Global IR: A Sufi Re-reading of Knowledge-Power Nexus, Ali Balci 3. Rumi and Global IR: A Sufi Review of Epistemology, Ontology and Methodology, Deepshikha Shahi Part II: Debating Sufi 'Oneness of Reality': Insights from the Non-Western Worlds 4. The Potentials of the Sufi Idea of 'Oneness of Reality' in Global IR, Fait Muedini 5. Sufism and the Preservation of Syrian Spiritual Identity, Omar Imady 6. The Limits of the Sufi Idea of 'Oneness of Reality' in Global IR, Giuseppe Cecere 7. The Sufi Rhetoric in Contemporary Turkey: Find Peace in My Hegemony! Ayse Cavdar 8. 'Textual-Contextual Tension' in the Sufi Study of Global IR: Learning from Sudan, Meir Hatina Part III: Analysing Manifestations of Sufism: Encounters with the Western Worlds 9. The American Discourse on Sufism: On the Resilience of Mystical Isla

About the Author :
Deepshikha Shahi is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Delhi, India.

Review :
Sufism: A Theoretical Intervention in Global International Relations is a valuable and timely contribution to the increasing interest in non-Western traditions of thought. It will be of interest to IR theorists as well as scholars in other disciplines who are interested in non-Western traditions of thought and is sure to motivate further research in IR that is inspired by Sufism. A theoretically ambitious and often captivating opening shot exploring Islamic mysticism and politics in the international realm, featuring a wide variety of academic scholars, spatial settings, disciplinary approaches and topical interpretations.