Join the Centre for the Study of Democracy for a talk with Jason Ralph (University of Leeds): International Society and the cultivation of the (collective) self. Three traditions from World Society.
In a recent International Theory article, Jason Ralph (2025) explored how international society might act as an ontological security provider. Drawing on the English School’s (ES) conceptual framework he argued that the institutions of ‘pluralist’, ‘thin solidarist’ and ‘thick solidarist’ international society mapped onto Lacanian, Kleinian, Winnicottian/Honnethian psychoanalytic theories, which consider how the individual and/or collective Self is secured. Ralph's purpose in this paper is to develop this line of argument by situating it in the wider context of world society, which he defines as a discursive space that is not structured by territorialized units of identification like the state. His secondary purpose is to encourage Ontological Security Studies and ES to think beyond its western-centric origins. He puts his 2025 framework in ‘conversation’ with three traditions that have origins in the non-Western world, namely Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist thought. He argues ‘no-self’ practices can be seen as part of an ongoing process that reflects on the value of solidarist institutions and the selves they constitute, an idea we find in the Confucian distinction between ‘learning’ a ritualised practice ( li ) and ‘reflecting’ ( ssu ). This is then related back to Western thought, in particular the Asian-inspired thinking of John Dewey and American philosophical Pragmatism.
About the speaker
Jason Ralph is Professor of International Relations at the University of Leeds. His recent book On Global Learning. Pragmatic Constructivism, International Practice and the Challenge of Global Governance (CUP 2023) was published as part of the BISA Cambridge Studies in International Relations series.
Location
Westminster Forum, 5th floor, 32–38 Wells Street, London, W1T 3UW
The event will take place in person. If you have any questions, please email the seminar convener, Dr Matthew Fluck at [email protected].
About the centre
The Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), established in 1989, is based in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster. At the Centre, academics working in politics and international relations undertake socially engaged, methodologically diverse and often interdisciplinary research that aims to address a range of critical political challenges in relation to democracy worldwide.
CSD has a longstanding international reputation for research excellence through a programme of publications, events and collaborations with academics, practitioners, policymakers, and activists. Research in Politics and International Studies at CSD was ranked 4th highest in the UK for impact in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
The Centre has established numerous collaborations with scholars and universities around the world and has hosted encounters with public intellectuals including Luc Boltanski, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Bruno Latour, Richard Rorty, Quentin Skinner, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Charles Taylor, James Tully, and Michael Walzer. The CR Parekh lecture, instituted by Lord Bhikhu Parekh, has included lectures by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arundhati Roy, and Ashis Nandy.
CSD recognises that responding to contemporary social and political challenges requires engagement beyond the academy, so actively welcomes dialogue and collaboration with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and activists around the world. The Centre is directed by Professor Nitasha Kaul.
