“Through an eclectic set of case studies and a wide array of literature—and always written with elan—Kurt Jacobsen offers a sophisticated unmasking of the “masks of reason” in various areas of international politics. Positivist methods, constructivism, realism, counterinsurgency theory, and neoliberal economics pass under his critical eye, provoking readers to think on every pa
ge.” (Ken Booth, President of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Affairs, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, UK, and Editor of International Relations)“Masks of Reason develops a rewarding methodologically pluralist overview of contemporary mainstream international relations scholarship, which turns to Mannheim, Freud, and the Frankfurt School to articulate a nuanced critique of the delusions and dysfunctionalities at the heart of “disciplinary IR.” From the failings of constructivist and rational decision-making analysis to the flaws in counterinsurgency doctrine and neoliberal development, Jacobsen's relationalist criticism unmasks why the orthodoxies of professional correctness must be left behind by international relations scholars to deal with today's domestic challenges and foreign threats.” (Timothy W. Luke, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA)
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Biographical note
Kurt Jacobsen is a journalist, award-winning filmmaker, and an Associate (formerly Research Associate and Lecturer) in the Program for International Politics, Economics and Security (PIPES) at the University of Chicago. He also has taught at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Rutgers University, Imperial College London and has been a Visiting Scholar at the London School of Economics on many occasions. He is the author or editor of ten books.