Leiden University Student Repository

Rinsum, Annick van (2023)

The absurd quest for vulnerability: Unveiling the political in International Relations Theory through aesthetics

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

This thesis explores what the process of making a theatre performance, as a method of research, could add to our understanding of complex issues in the field of International Relations. Specifically, it engages with the question of how our theories about what world politics is, give shape to our world and our understanding of it. Through the making of an absurdist theatre performance it makes us aware that our theoretical positions are precarious. It does so by exploring the philosophical underpinnings of three divergent theories in International Relations Theory: Liberalism, Poststructuralism and Relational Cosmology and how they shape our possibilities for thinking and being in the world.

aesthetics

the political

theatre

International Relations Theory

liberalism

poststructuralism

relational cosmology

Author

Rinsum, Annick van

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Culture and Politics

Supervisors

Smith, K.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en