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Histories
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History of International Relations
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History of International Relations

A special issue of Histories (ISSN 2409-9252). This special issue belongs to the section "Political, Institutional, and Economy History".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2025) | Viewed by 11122

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. André Liebich

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland
Interests: statehood and nationalism; minority issues; diaspora politics; current political issues in post-communist Europe

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue plans to address the topic in the following two ways:

As contributors, you are welcome to trace the development of the study of international relations in specific countries, such as the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia), or to choose a specific theme, for instance, climate change, or the politics of international health.

This Special Issue is focused on presenting new ideas and advances in the very diverse field of history of international relations. The time span covered by the articles would start, essentially, from the Second World War. It is recommended that articles total no fewer than 4000 words (please note that reviews, regular research papers, essays and communications are also welcomed).

Prof. Dr. André Liebich
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Histories is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intellectual history
  • international relations

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 312 KB  
Article
Are We There Yet? Revisiting the Old and New Postcolonialism(s) in IR
by Shelby A. E. McPhee, Nathan Andrews and Maïka Sondarjee
Histories 2025, 5(4), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/histories5040054 - 24 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Postcolonialism stands as a synergy between new and old sets of literature that have come together unevenly and in different ways. Postcolonial interventions have contended with IR core themes over the past four decades. Over the last two decades, there has also been [...] Read more.
Postcolonialism stands as a synergy between new and old sets of literature that have come together unevenly and in different ways. Postcolonial interventions have contended with IR core themes over the past four decades. Over the last two decades, there has also been a boom in the scholarship that examines non-Western IR, with some emerging from the contributions of critical theorists who sought to question the dominance of mainstream perspectives such as (neo)realism, liberal institutionalism, and constructivism. How has postcolonialism influenced IR, and how does it relate to non-Western approaches of the ‘international’? This article presents a historical categorization of postcolonial interventions on world politics as postcolonial 1.0 (the anti-colonial struggles against empire); 2.0 (subaltern studies, discourse and Otherness); and 3.0 (disrupting hegemonic epistemes). It then provides a review of whether and how postcolonial approaches align with the movement towards a non-Western IR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of International Relations)
19 pages, 285 KB  
Article
The Limits of “Genocide”: East Timor, International Law, and the Question of Justice
by Skaidra Pulley and Latha Varadarajan
Histories 2025, 5(4), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/histories5040050 - 13 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1316
Abstract
The two-decade-long occupation of East Timor by Indonesia has long been the focus of debate within genocide studies, with scholars on one side arguing for its recognition as “genocide” and, on the other, insisting on its exclusion from acknowledgment as such due to [...] Read more.
The two-decade-long occupation of East Timor by Indonesia has long been the focus of debate within genocide studies, with scholars on one side arguing for its recognition as “genocide” and, on the other, insisting on its exclusion from acknowledgment as such due to its inability to satisfy certain legal criteria. Our article revisits this conflict and the surrounding debate in order to stake out a larger claim about the logic of the legal form in contemporary global order. Following a growing critical scholarship in genocide studies, we argue that the concept of genocide itself entrenches harmful understandings of global order and contributes to structures which encourage the mass violence it nominally aims to identify and prevent. Far from being singular, it further represents fundamental limitations regarding the legal form as a mechanism of justice and resistance. To support this claim, we use the failure of various justice and reconciliation mechanisms to prosecute genocide in East Timor to illustrate the ways in which a legal system predicated on imperialism shapes both the behavior of a newly minted domestic elite and the larger project of state sovereignty itself. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of International Relations)
23 pages, 367 KB  
Article
Beyond National Sovereignty: The Post-World War II Birth of “Human Rights”
by Andrew L. Williams
Histories 2025, 5(4), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/histories5040047 - 23 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1926
Abstract
On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) without a single dissenting vote. The term “human rights” coalesced rapidly and unexpectedly. Samuel Moyn, a leading intellectual historian of human rights, observes [...] Read more.
On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) without a single dissenting vote. The term “human rights” coalesced rapidly and unexpectedly. Samuel Moyn, a leading intellectual historian of human rights, observes that people now view universal human rights as part of a set of “conventional and enduring truths.” To the contrary, he asserts that “it was all rather new at the time.” Although historical and philosophical roots exist for the notion of rights, the early twentieth century witnessed little “human rights” discourse. Thus, this paper illuminates two evolutions—one political and the other religious—that helped set the stage for the birth of human rights in the aftermath of World War II. Politically, the failure of the “Westphalian order” to prevent the unimaginable suffering of “total war” broadened transnationalism beyond the quest for a balance of power between sovereign nation-states. On the religious side, rights advocates adapted principles drawn from prior debates to the mid-twentieth-century context, thereby contributing to the development and widespread embrace of the concept of inherent human dignity and the corresponding notion of inviolable and universal “human rights.” Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of International Relations)
18 pages, 289 KB  
Article
The Kennedy Plan: The Role of Rhetoric in Overcoming the Cuban Threat During 1961
by James Trapani
Histories 2025, 5(3), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/histories5030030 - 25 Jun 2025
Viewed by 2157
Abstract
President John F Kennedy faced an impending crisis upon taking office in January 1961. The revolutionary threat of Cuba held the potential to spread to several neighboring countries. This crisis was the product of decades of neglect from successive US presidents, that ultimately [...] Read more.
President John F Kennedy faced an impending crisis upon taking office in January 1961. The revolutionary threat of Cuba held the potential to spread to several neighboring countries. This crisis was the product of decades of neglect from successive US presidents, that ultimately invited the USSR into the region and fell to Kennedy during his first year as President. Kennedy sought to recast the image of the US in the hemisphere to inoculate against the example of Cuba. The cornerstone of this plan was the Alliance for Progress, a substantial program of economic assistance from the US to Latin America. However, that program has widely been criticized as a failure. Rather than reflect on the economic and social limitations of the Alliance for Progress, this paper will evaluate the diplomatic impact of Kennedy’s approach in forming the anti-Cuban coalition in the first year of his presidency. Kennedy successfully changed the Latin American attitude towards the US prior to the releasing of any substantial economic aid. Therefore, this paper will argue that “The Kennedy Plan” was a diplomatic success that reduced the threat of Castro’s Cuba in the context of the Cold War. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of International Relations)
15 pages, 241 KB  
Article
Coexistence or Competition? China’s Evolution in Global Institutional Power
by Shaoyu Yuan
Histories 2025, 5(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/histories5020020 - 22 Apr 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2124
Abstract
China’s engagement with global governance has evolved significantly since 1949, transitioning from outright rejection during its revolutionary isolation (1949–1971) to strategic engagement with key institutions such as the United Nations, IMF, and WTO (1971–2000), and more recently to the creation of parallel institutions [...] Read more.
China’s engagement with global governance has evolved significantly since 1949, transitioning from outright rejection during its revolutionary isolation (1949–1971) to strategic engagement with key institutions such as the United Nations, IMF, and WTO (1971–2000), and more recently to the creation of parallel institutions like the AIIB and Belt and Road Initiative (2000–present). This paper traces these historical phases to analyze how China has navigated and reshaped global norms, balancing its integration into existing frameworks with efforts to build alternative governance structures. While Hegemonic Stability Theory and Power Transition Theory offer insights into China’s evolving strategy, neither fully encapsulates its pragmatic, adaptive approach. China’s domestic regulatory innovations, such as the Social Credit System and its promotion of cyber sovereignty, increasingly influence its global governance initiatives, reflecting a deliberate effort to export its governance models. Rather than fully integrating into or replacing the U.S.-led liberal order, China employs a dual-track strategy: engaging with global institutions where advantageous while promoting state-centric alternatives to liberal norms. This study argues that China’s historical trajectory underscores its pivotal role in shaping a multipolar world order, where competing governance frameworks coexist and challenge the dominance of Western-led institutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of International Relations)
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