On the global politics of “decency” and “restraint”
| DOI | 10.1177/17550882211008941 |
| Published date | 01 October 2021 |
| Date | 01 October 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Review Essay |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17550882211008941
Journal of International Political Theory
2021, Vol. 17(3) 553 –565
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/17550882211008941
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On the global politics of
“decency” and “restraint”
Christopher Peys
Independent Researcher, USA
Abstract
This essay offers a review of both Roach’s Decency and Difference: Humanity and the
Global Challenge of Identity Politics and Steele’s Restraint in International Politics. Exploring
the concept-driven modes of analysis employed in each of these two texts, this essay
investigates how Roach and Steele theorize the moral, socio-psychological, and political
struggles inherent to the notions of decency and restraint. This review is not only
devoted to understanding Roach’s and Steele’s respective arguments about how global
politics has been conditioned by the tensions inherent to decency and restraint but, also,
to reflecting on how these two scholars suggest we deal—theoretically and practically—
with the complexities of these two notions in today’s world. At a time when various
forces of indecent, unrestrained behavior have arguably led to an exclusionary politics
of identity, rancor, and enmity, Roach’s and Steele’s books demonstrate—conceptually,
empirically, and normatively—how we can understand the global politics of decency and
restraint, as well as how people(s) around the world can begin to take more dignified
steps in a just, democratic direction.
Keywords
Action, decency, dignity, global politics, restraint
Steven C. Roach, Decency and Difference: Humanity and the Global Challenge of Identity
Politics, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2019.
Brent J. Steele, Restraint in International Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2019.
Just before noon on the 20th of January 2021, Joseph R. Biden addressed the world for
the first time as the 46th President of the United States, beginning his time in office with
a call for the people of his nation to “unite,” to “lower the temperature,” and to open a
Corresponding author:
Christopher Peys, Independent Researcher, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Email: chrispeys@gmail.com
1008941IPT0010.1177/17550882211008941Journal of International Political TheoryPeys
review-article2021
Review Essay
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