# Decolonising Norms in International Relations — Charlotte Epstein

An episode of [The IR thinker](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1716817337), 18 Feb 2026, 53 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914/e/69958776c208b1a9315d5488/media.mp3

In this episode, Professor Charlotte Epstein reflects on how postcolonial perspectives reshape the study of norms in international relations, challenging conventional accounts of diffusion, compliance, and legitimacy. The conversation explores colonial inheritances embedded in contemporary normative orders, while examining positionality, experience, and the epistemological stakes of critical scholarship. Charlotte Epstein is Professor at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, where her work examines how language and political power have jointly constituted the modern international order. Selected Publications • The power of words in international relations: Birth of an anti-whaling discourse • Who speaks? Discourse, the subject and the study of identity in international politics • Constructivism or the eternal return of universals in International Relations. Why returning to language is vital to prolonging the owl’s flight • The postcolonial perspective: an introduction • Against international relations norms: Postcolonial perspectives • Birth of the state: The place of the body in crafting modern politics Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Colonialism and Postcolonialism: Conceptual Clarifications 04:08 Rationale for Employing Postcolonial Perspectives 07:22 Postcoloniality as Positionality Beyond Historical Periodisation 12:29 Studying Norm Diffusion and Compliance Beyond Coercion 22:50 Why Norms Reveal Colonial Inheritances More Sharply than Concepts 27:53 From Norms as Practices to Norms as Epistemological Categories 32:25 Situated Perspectives, Critical Authority, and the Risk of Relativism 35:42 The Role of Experience in Postcolonial Norm Research 39:26 Key Sources on the Concept of Experience 43:02 ‘Norming’ and ‘Re-Norming’ in a Foucauldian Perspective 47:54 The Ambivalences of Research Success 50:39 Principal Challenges in Postcolonial Approaches to Norms Follow & Further Resources Substack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theirthinker/ X: https://x.com/theirthinker Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theirthinker/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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