Grounding International Relations: Introduction to the Special Forum

Abstract This introduction frames the Special Forum on land in international politics. We reconstruct the land question and show its relevance and pervasiveness in neighboring disciplines, asking why land has played such a small role in International Relations (IR). We argue that to understand current empirical trends in international politics, from territorial wars to political economy, from social movements to environmental crises, we need a serious engagement with land: an understanding of international politics “from the ground up.” The introduction thus positions land—the earth we walk on, eat from, care for, and fight about—as a central site and subject matter of international politics. Understanding processes that start and move through land requires thinking of land in multiple dimensions: as territory, as property, and as culture. Building on the findings in this Special Forum, we flesh out these three dimensions of land in international politics. Furthermore, we outline three takeaways for further theory development in IR: In addition to analyzing land as a problem of governance or territorial control, we point to it as constitutive of international politics more broadly, highlighting the natural/material side of land that makes it somewhat unruly. Building on this, we engage with the debate on environmental determinism and encourage scholars to rethink our relationship to nature without stepping into the traps of regressive (“blood and soil”) narratives. Finally, we highlight the importance of rural places for the study of international politics, particularly regarding the big challenges of the 21st century.