The Sociology of Theorising and Neo-Gramscian Perspectives: The Problems of ‘School’ Formation in IPE

Abstract

Over a number of years an alternative theoretical approach has developed within International Political Economy (IPE) that has advanced upon the general conceptual framework of Antonio Gramsci to explain the operation of hegemony at the international level as well as to consider change and transformation in world order. This alternative framework was outlined in Chapter 1. It is the intention of this chapter to reflect more broadly on the diverse literature that has been generated by this theoretical approach, which also informs the range of different arguments contained within the book. This chapter should therefore be read as a counterpart to the introduction of the volume. As a whole, the two chapters address a series of theoretical and methodological issues germane to the chapters that follow. The objective of this chapter is to draw attention to the way such literature has been commonly represented. Although the contributions of this literature go beyond solely adopting and adapting the writings of Gramsci, there has nevertheless been a tendency to impose a cohesive label upon such work to the extent that reference is often made to a neo-Gramscian ‘school’. Additionally, even a cursory examination of the literature reveals ambivalent and somewhat awkward attempts by the alleged adherents to develop an appropriate label to encompass the analyses.

‘As there is no single school of Marxism … so too there is no single Gramscian or “Italian” school. Nor is there any consensual interpretation of Gramsci’s fragmentary and often contradictory thoughts concerning social theory.’

Stephen Gill (1993: 2)