Abstract

How, given what research in other disciplines presently tells us about affect and emotions, should IR scholars revise their theories? This talk—building on a forthcoming article at International Organization, co-authored with Andrew Ross of Ohio University—proposes six amendments for integrating affective dynamics into existing conceptions of individual-level actorhood in IR. From these amendments emerge, in turn, the theoretical micro-foundations upon which to build propositions concerning potential collective-level dynamics and political strategies. The result is a new approach to understanding the consequences of emotions and affect for international politics.

Dr Todd Hall is an associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford and Tutor in Politics at St Anne’s College. Dr Hall earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2008 and has held post-doctoral fellowships at Princeton and Harvard, as well as visiting scholar appointments at the Free University of Berlin and Tsinghua University in Beijing and was Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Toronto (2010-2013). Research interests extend to the areas of international relations theory; the intersection of emotion, affect, and foreign policy; and Chinese foreign policy. Dr. Hall is presently working on a book manuscript that examines the role of state-level emotional behavior in international relations titled Emotional Diplomacy: Official Emotion on the International Stage, forthcoming at Cornell University Press later this year.