Going Beyond the Add-and-Stir Critique: Tracing the Hybrid Masculinist Legacies of the Performative State/Ekle-Karistir Elestirisinin

• Author: Agarwal, Amya
• Position: Regional International Relations and Global Worlds: Globalising International Relations

Introduction

The West-centric bias in the process of knowledge production has been questioned in myriad ways by various inter-disciplinary scholars. (1) In doing so, several theoretical strategies have been developed to criticize the inherent Eurocentrism in theorizing. Colonial, decolonial and postcolonial theoretical perspectives have emerged to counter the Eurocentric process of knowledge production. These strategies have also travelled to the International Relations (IR) discipline and manifested mainly as the 'non-Western' construction of IR. Efforts entailed in such a construction can be broadly categorised in two main interrelated debates around IR- rewriting the history of IR and problematizing the Euro-centrism of the field. (2) In an attempt towards a more inclusive 'non-Western' theorization in IR, scholars have directed their attention towards local histories, cultures and political philosophies. Advocates of a non-Western approach argue that the culture and history of non-Western societies are inherently different, and there is ample indigenous material to theorize and develop concepts from their own perspectives.

The problematization of Western dominance/Eurocentrism in the discipline is, no doubt, significant in addressing the power binaries with respect to knowledge production and dissemination. Similarly, the historiographies of IR that attempt to re-write the discipline are also significant in bringing to the fore silenced and omitted histories. However, such attempts to re-write dominant histories, result, on the one hand, in reproducing the dominance of the West; (3) and on the other hand, they overlook the connectedness between the 'East' and the 'West', as they primarily focus on the 'inherent' difference of local histories and cultures.

Bhambra, for instance, articulates this problem accurately:

"Postcolonial criticism has sought to illuminate these omissions, but it has itself frequently focused on the specificity of what is omitted in the standard accounts, rather than their interconnected and related nature. In other words, it also fails to see the connections as integral to the process previously represented as independent of them." (4) Furthermore, the fashioning of non-Western IR theory from the vantage point of a particular country, for instance Chinese IR or Indian IR, may result in the essentialization of certain cultures (5) and histories, while othering and overlooking the significant hybrid nature of these societies. Also, such studies may inadvertently glorify the local histories and underestimate the exclusionary power hierarchies or colonial reproductions within the non-Western experiences. (6) Scholars have now offered newer approaches to resolve the problem of the disconnect between 'East' and 'West' found in the pre-dominant postcolonial analyses. Such approaches move beyond the idea of the 'West', or particularly 'Europe' as the centre for events, ideas and concepts; not by simply adding the experiences of the 'East', but by highlighting the interconnectedness between the 'East' and 'West' in the development of international politics. Seth, for instance, argues, "any satisfactory account of the emergence of the modern international system cannot simply chart how an international society that developed in the West radiated outwards, but rather seek to explore the ways in which international society was shaped by interactions between Europe and the colonized." (7) Similarly, the 'connected histories' approach offered by Bhambra is one such significant intervention. She argues, "what is needed is a connected histories approach with a decentred conception of totality; decentred not just spatially, but also conceptually." (8) IR scholars have started reflecting more on how stories are told in IR and the need to go beyond what Capan calls the linear tale of the 'rise of the West', and focus more on placing IR within the framework of interconnectedness. (9)

In this broad context of problematizing the dominance of the West in knowledge production, scholars in India (or working from an Indian vantage point) have also actively worked towards creating a space to incorporate knowledge of indigenous histories, cultures and political philosophies. The initial attempts at questioning the usage of Western standards to judge knowledge produced through non-Western modes of thinking was evident in the early interdisciplinary Indian critique of Enlightenment modernity. The popular work of Ashis Nandy, Rajni Kothari, Dhirubhai Seth, Shiv Vishvana-than and others carried out at the Centre for Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS) are important examples in this direction. (10) Such critiques are crucial interventions in non-Western theorization. In IR, indigenous scholars have problematized the dominance of the West by incorporating Indian politics, histories and political philosophies relevant in the study of IR. On the one hand, scholars focus on studying the Indian foreign relations, diplomatic histories pertaining to India, nuclear deterrence, and regionalism in South Asia; (11) on the other hand, they study Indian perspectives on global issues such as international order, international law, and neo-Marxist writings on imperialism and globaliza-tion. (12) The relatively recent genre of Indian IR writings include post-colonial feminist analysis. (13)

A significant approach of theorizing in IR in India has highlighted the relevance of Indian political philosophies. In doing so, scholars go back to the historical Indian political traditions to reveal their significance in existing theories in IR. In adding and stirring of the 'Indian' political philosophies, however, the nuances and complexities of power relations that operate within the post-colonial societies get somewhat overlooked and also result in the essentialization of the Indian culture and history. For instance, attempts are made by IR scholars to rediscover Kautilya to challenge the Western dominance in political realism in IR. Furthermore, Behera argues:

"The impoverishment of traditional IR's political thought becomes further evident on its chosen ground--political realism--that does not recognize or own Indian political philosopher, Kautilya as 'the father of realpolitik'. Kautilya is not taught in any 'principal IR theory courses' and though Arthashastra has much to offer for theorizing IR, the universal applicability of his ideas is not acknowledged--almost universally." (14) Shedding light on relevant non-Western political philosophies is no doubt crucial in re-imagining IR as a theoretically inclusive discipline. The problem, however, in simply 'recognizing and owning' or 'acknowledging' Indian political philosophies such as those in Kautilya's Arthashastra is that its contribution in the gendered construction of a national identity gets entirely overshadowed. Arthashastra, as scholars rightly argue, has an implicit presence in Indian politics and can be considered a significant indigenous reference point to study IR in India. (15) What is more important to recognize, however, is how political philosophies entailed in Arthashastra are drawn by the Indian post-colonial state to enact its own form of colonialism and imperialism.

As an alternative to the add-and-stir critique style of the non-Western approaches in IR, this paper builds upon the 'connected histories' approach; and interjects concepts like 'hybrid performativity' to highlight the interconnectedness of the 'East' and 'West' in the exercise and performance of state power. In doing so, the paper uses the concept of 'hybridity' borrowed from cultural studies that refers to the process of "making of something new through the combination of existing things and patterns." (16) In the case of the security state in the Kashmir conflict, the paper argues that a combination of colonizer and Brahminical and Kshatriya masculinities form a hybrid form of the performative state in Kashmir. In this regard, the Hindu nationalist discourse and Hindutva masculinity, prevalent in contemporary Indian politics, also draws significantly from the Brahminical and Kshatriya masculine elements of Kautilyan thought. We will assess the gendered nature of the Arthashastra and its continued legacy later in this paper. Instead of 'owning' and simply 'acknowledging' the universal applicability of Kautilya's ideas, we look at how this legacy may be as problematic as the influence of the Enlightenment modernity of the West in the enactment of gendered state practices.

The paper also uses the concept of gender performativity to understand state practices. Judith Butler's idea of gender performativity (17) is particularly relevant in calling our attention to the performative mode of gender as opposed to only its social construction. Using a gender lens to understand state politics and practices is not a new phenomenon. Several feminists have already showed the gendered nature of sovereign states and their practices. The feminist critique of the realist discourse in IR highlights the gendered nature of states and international politics. (18) Realism, with its state-centric view of international politics, still remains the pre-dominant lens to view armed conflicts. Kashmir as a conflict, for instance, is mostly viewed through the lens of Pakistan and India, wherein all assumptions and explanations of state politics are primarily based on men's experiences and masculinity. Characteristics of manliness such as toughness, courage, power, physical strength and valour are most valued in conducting international politics. Also, manliness is associated with the use of violence and force, which is applauded in the name of defending one's country. The realist perspective, on the one hand essentializes and reinforces the gender binaries-where 'men are warriors and women are victims' and on the other hand, silences the role and agency of multiple (non-state) stakeholders in conflict-affected...