"Civil War"

I was going to do a post on the rhetorical battle over whether Iraq is in a state of "civil war" or not (or as Josh Marshall and readers have been suggesting, a "failed state"). But then I saw this by Peter at the Duck of Minerva and thought it did the trick with the bonus that he jumps on a fallacy I also detest.

I have this thing about Definitions. In short, I hate them. Perhaps its the influence of Wittgenstein in my work, but nothing irks me more than people who lay out a dictionary definition, as if its obvious, and proceed with a political or academic analysis, leading logically to some conclusion. As those people say in debates, well, if we could only agree on defining terms..... well, sure, then the debate would be all over.

Within IR, one of the most important insights of critical, constructivist, post-structural (and others) theory is that the political battle over definitions is a central aspect of how the world works. Once something is "labeled" and "legitimated" as that thing, it creates a whole realm of possible pathways for action and forecloses others. So, to say, well, the definition of such and such a thing is X, Y, Z is to engage in a political act creating a topography of possibility for that such and such a thing. Unpacking and investigating that battle is then a very interesting locus of academic study.

Which brings us to tonight's word: Civil War. [read on...]