Social Forces as Political Actors in International Relations: A Review from the Critical Theory

Abstract:

The overall aim of this article is to review the concept of social forces as political actors in the international domain from the perspective of the critical theory of international relations. The method used is the bibliographic review where the scientific articles belonging to this domain are taken as its documentary corpus and Robert W. Cox’s method of historical structures as its main axis. Cox’s method identifies as levels or spheres of activity the social forces, the forms of States and world order, and as frameworks for action the combination of ideas, material capacities and institutions. As a result, it follows that social movements—understood as social forces—can be considered social and political actors participating in foreign action—whether under an institutionalized form or not. Social movements have an impact on the frameworks of action and are able to either contribute to the perpetuation of an existing historical structure or resist it. But by themselves, they are unable to bring about the social changes that Cox’s approach proposes. Therefore, their relation with the State remains a basic element, at least for understanding the phenomena that take place in international relations. However, we should not ignore their role as new actors endowed with the responsibility of proposing the most significant transformations in the world concert and well as their impact in the decision-making process at a global level.

Año de publicación:

2021

Keywords:

• Political actors
• state
• critical theory
• Social forces

Fuente:

scopus