The debate on the social ontology of the "international" has gained momentum in the field of International Relations (IR). This article expands the discussion by demonstrating that the "international" is not confined to a single ontology but can be conceptualised through three distinct ontological paradigms, corresponding to the political ontologies outlined by Roberto Esposito: the post-Heideggerian paradigm of negation, the Deleuzian paradigm of constitution, and the neo-Machiavellian paradigm of institution. The primary focus is placed on the paradigms of constitution and institution, as they offer broader opportunities for IR theory to influence adjacent disciplines.

Within Gilles Deleuze’s ontology, the "international" aligns most closely with "smooth spaces" shaped by global flows and movements, which are not necessarily political in nature. The capitalist production of smooth space extends across all social domains, making IR—a discipline specialising in relations within smooth space—an important conceptual resource for enriching neighboring fields of study. Meanwhile, the neo-Machiavellian paradigm of political ontology, particularly as articulated in the works of Claude Lefort, provides a foundation for understanding the "international" as multi-level governance. This perspective is exemplified by Putnam’s two-level games and the theory of multi-level governance. Crucially, multi-level structures are not limited to international relations; they manifest across various social domains, suggesting that IR theory grounded in the neo-Machiavellian paradigm holds explanatory value beyond its traditional scope. For instance, multi-level dynamics can be observed in economics (e.g., Ronald Coase’s theory of the firm) and psychology (e.g., Eric Berne’s transactional analysis).

This study demonstrates that embracing a multiple ontology of the "international" can help overcome the disciplinary crisis in IR by opening new conceptual avenues for understanding global processes through the synthesis of diverse theoretical and practical perspectives

The paper was supported by the RSF grant No. 23-18-01045

This article was submitted 15.11.2024