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Abstract

There has been a burgeoning interest in the concepts of relationality and temporality within the field of International Relations (IR) in recent years. This shift is driven by the recognition among many mainstream IR scholars that the global landscape has increasingly been characterised by profound uncertainty and unpredictability. A significant amount of recent works focusing upon the IR frameworks emphasise the relationality of actors. This is because the more pressing questions arise not from a desire to solve the problem of ‘uncertainty and unpredictability’ but from a need to critically examine how these concepts are problematised. One ideological current premised on this uncertain and unpredictable world is the discussion presented in this article, which originates at the intersection of three academic disciplines: Mahāyāna Buddhism, quantum theory, and IR. In this article, I critically examine the image of ontology historically assumed by contemporary IR and make every effort to further develop a new methodology grounded on Mahāyāna Buddhism supported by quantum mechanics for this purpose and I will present the potential implications of this integrated worldview for contemporary world politics, suggesting how these insights can contribute to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of global ethics.

Keywords

international relations theories Mahayana Buddhism quantum mechanics ontology global ethics

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What if Contingency Is the Norm? A Buddhist Intervention in Doing IR and Practising Global Ethics

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