L. H. M. "Lily" Ling (14 November 1955 – 1 October 2018) was a political theorist and scholar whose work focused around the theory of ''worldism'' within international relations. Much of her work draws from storytelling, the arts, and non-Western culture to present alternative versions of historical analysis of global affairs. She was Professor of International Affairs at
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
at the time of her death.
Biography
She graduated from
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
, and from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
with a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
She held academic positions at
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
,
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, and
International Institute of Social Studies before joining the faculty at The New School in 2002 as an associate professor with the Graduate Program in International Affairs. She was an editorial board member for ''
Politics & Gender
''Politics & Gender'' is a political science journal that publishes scholarship on gender and politics and on women and politics. It aims to represent the full range of questions, issues, and approaches on gender and women across the major subfie ...
'' and for ''
International Political Sociology International Political Sociology (IPS) is an interdisciplinary field and set of approaches at the crossroads of international relations theory and other disciplines such as sociology, geography and anthropology. It is structured around initiatives ...
'', and an associate editor for ''
International Feminist Journal of Politics''.
In 2018, she was awarded the Eminent Scholar distinction by the Feminist Theory and Gender Studies section of the
International Studies Association. Ling died on 1 October 2018, of stroke complications.
Worldism
Ling was the lead advocate for ''worldism'', a
theory of international relations. Worldism posits that the dominant geopolitical order, defined as the
Westphalian world/Western IR, is a singular
social construction that interacts competitively and creatively with 'other worlds' – other social and political orders.
The theory itself blends together insights from
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
,
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
,
postcolonialism
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
, and social constructivism to critique the militaristic focus of contemporary
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
and
realist analysis of it.
The theory bases itself in
Daoist dialectics to complicate the totality of Western IR and pose it as the ''yang'' element within a dialectic construction. In comparison, Ling draws upon the arts and
soft power
In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defin ...
to represent ''yin''. Together, both "co-create, co-govern, and co-exercise power."
Ling encourages others to explore within the creative power of ''yin'' to challenge the ''yang'' of dominant IR narratives to create new worlds, thus fulfilling the prophecy of worldism in the dialogue of various worlds within one another.
Publications
Books
*''Postcolonial International Relations: Conquest and Desire between
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
'' (London:
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 2002)
*''Seductions of Empire: Complicity, Desire, and Insecurity in Contemporary World Politics'' (forthcoming), co-authored with Anna M. Agathangelou (
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
).
*
The House of IR: From Family Power Politics to the Poisies of Worldism', co-authored with Anna M. Agathangelou (Wiley on behalf of The International Studies Association, 2004)
''The Dao of World Politics: Towards a Post-Westphalian, Worldist International Relations''(Routledge, 2014)
''Imagining World Politics: Sihar & Shenya, A Fable for Our Times''(Routledge, 2014)
*
India China: Rethinking Borders and Security'' with Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Payal Banerjee, Nimmi Kurian, Mahendra P. Lama, and Li Bo. (University of Michigan Press, 2016, ).
Other publications
"The Kitsch of War" ''International Affairs Working Paper 2005-02'', March 2005
Ling, L.H.M (2017) “World Politics in Colour” in Millennium: Journal of
International Studies, Vol. 45(3) pp.473–491. Accessible: https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829817703192
Ling's publications have appeared in ''
International Feminist Journal of Politics'', ''
International Studies Quarterly'', ''
International Studies Review'', ''
Journal of Peace Research'', ''Millennium'', positions:
east Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
cultures critique, ''
Review of International Political Economy
The ''Review of International Political Economy'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering international political economy. The journal was established in 1994 and is published by Routledge. The editor-in-chief is Lena Rethel (Unive ...
'', ''
Review of Politics
''The Review of Politics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the fields of politics, philosophy, and history. It was founded in 1939 and is published by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the universit ...
'', as well as various edited volumes.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, L. H. M.
1955 births
2018 deaths
The New School faculty