The politics of the unknown : theorising exploration in international relations ...

• Main Author: Sharp, Gregory Levi
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2022
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0406631; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0406631

State-sponsored exploration is often framed as a disinterested pursuit of knowledge to the benefit of all humanity. While this would seem to represent a unique way of intervening in global politics, a deeper examination reveals a host of often contradictory reasons why states explore. This dissertation offers an in-depth examination of what exploration is and why states do it. To this end, a discursive approach is brought to bear on two genealogical case studies: British exploration of the North American Arctic and American exploration of outer space. This dissertation begins by theorizing exploration as a bundle of interlinked narratives and practices focused on a space discursively framed as an unknown. From there it makes three overlapping contributions. The first expands on both the form and function of exploration in global politics. Specifically, it elaborates a set of five functions: exploration as a legitimacy building tool, a platform for cooperation, as a way to build support, a means of ...