From Libya to Venezuela: conceptual limitations in international relations

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

When analysing the Libyan Arab al-Jamahiriyah and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, mainstream analyses in International Relations and International Political Economy have a tendency to rely on three main ‘theses’ (authoritarian, rentier, rogue). In this talk, Capasso examines how these prevalent concepts simplify the historical socio-political formations of these states, as well as the extent to which those terms continue to set the frame to comprehend the nature of their current socio-economic crises. Capasso argues that the uncritical reliance on these concepts hardens into a one-size-fits-all vision of international (in)security. On the one hand, it internalises the causes of war and conflict within these countries, de-linking them from the political economy of confrontations vis-à-vis the US-led capitalist global order. On the other, it forecloses possibilities for alternative paths to development, such as those emerging from – and grounded in – a global South context.