Singularity or aberration? A response to Buzan and Lawson

Abstract

Buzan and Lawson (2012) urge IR scholars to consider what the 19th century can teach us about the contemporary world. Although we agree that IR scholars should draw from a wider range of historical experiences in formulating and testing their theories, we disagree with Buzan and Lawson's contentions that the lessons of the 19th century are self-evident. We argue that the 19th century may have been either an aberration in human history, during which the traditional political and economic centers of gravity were temporarily displaced by Western Europe and its offshoots, or a Singularity, in which the takeoff of the industrial revolution fundamentally changed the relationship of politics, culture, and economics. In either case, the 19th century may have less to tell us about contemporary IR than Buzan and Lawson suggest. © 2013 International Studies Association.