Concepts at Work: On the Linguistic Infrastructure of World Politics

241 Pages·2021·1.297 MB·English

by  Piki Ish-Shalom

Concepts at Work

Concepts at Work
On the Linguistic Infrastructure
of World Politics
Edited by Piki Ish- Shalom
University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor
Copyright 2021 by Piki Ish- Shalom
All rights reserved
For questions or permissions, please contact [email protected]
Published in the United States of America by
the University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid- free paper
First published April 2021
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 13244- 7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 12868- 6 (ebook)
This book is dedicated to Katty Ish-Shalom, my conception of love.

Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
Piki Ish- Shalom
Chapter 2. Talking about Self- Determination:
Contested Conceptions and Political Implications
of an Undisputed Concept 24
Jonas Wolff
Chapter 3. The Concept of Success in (and of) War 43
Brent J. Steele and Luke Campbell
Chapter 4. The Ambivalence of (Not) Being in a “War”:
The “Civilian Power” Germany and the
“Stabilization Operation” in Afghanistan 65
Anna Geis
Chapter 5. Encountering Nomads in Israel Defense Forces
and Beyond 91
Philippe Beaulieu- Brossard
Chapter 6. Political Concepts and Vagueness:
Cyberattacks in the Israeli Political Discourse 118
Neta Strunin-Kremer
viii Contents
Chapter 7. Shifting Tides:
The Blue Economy and Concepts in Practice 137
Christian Bueger
Chapter 8. Enabling Critique:
The Use of “Friendship” in German- Israeli Relations 157
Felix Berenskötter
Chapter 9. The Conceptual Virtues of the International
Community as an Empty Signifier 185
Mor Mitrani
Chapter 10. Concluding Chapter:
Concepts at Work in Global IR 203
Jan Wilkens and Oliver Kessler
Contributors 223
Index 227
Digital materials related to this title can be found on the Fulcrum platform
via the following citable URL https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11719182
Preface
I cradle the book in my arms, unsure exactly how I got here: empirically,
not conceptually. Conceptually speaking I am well aware of the impor-
tance of the topic, of the political importance of concepts and concep-
tions, and their role in shaping interactions within and between societies
and states. The book is about this importance, and in the following pages it
will speak for itself. But, empirically, how almost six years after a workshop
co- organized in Jerusalem by me and Roee Kibrik, did I get to cradle this
edited volume, especially when I was warned time and again from getting
myself involved in editing? The mystery, the empirical mystery, is deep
indeed, but I can assure you that the journey was not that torturous, and
it was even rewarding because of the support I got along the road from the
participants (turned contributors), and the editorial staff of the University
of Michigan Press.
Accordingly, my gratitude goes first and foremost to the contributors
of the chapters, for their first-r ate scholarship, comradeship, and patience
throughout the long years of working on the book: Jonas Wolff, Anna Geis,
Brent Steele, Luke Campbell, Neta Strunin- Kremer, Philippe Beaulieu-
Brossard, Christian Bueger, Felix Berenskötter, Mor Mitrani, Jan Wilkens,
and Oliver Kessler. I also want to thank those workshop participants who
did not continue with us to the book: Roee Kibrik, Raef Zreik, Deganit
Paikowsky, Ariel Zellman, and Christopher Hobson. Each one of them
enriched our understandings of concepts at work, and left her/his mark
on the published product of the workshop. Of course, the workshop could
not have taken place without the great staff of The Leonard Davis Institute
for International Relations: Chanoch Wolpe and Michal Barak, for whom
I am grateful on countless accounts and events.