View article

In recent years there has been an increasing interest among IR theorists in „practice‟. Yet the concept has been employed to mean and investigate different phenomena. It is contended here that this should not be surprising–the term has no single correct meaning but rather multiple legitimate uses. Rather than exerting too much energy on definitional matters, perhaps a more fruitful approach is to ask: Which among the manifold uses of the term are pertinent for students of international relations, and why? This paper suggests that there is a key meaning of practice in international relations: a purposive and rule-governed social activity. It argues that only by studying practice or practices so understood can IR scholars fully ascertain the norms 1-and concepts made up of them-embedded in the international social sphere. This sphere is unique because it lacks central government. In contrast to domestic society, where …