The decline of the Liberal International Order (LIO) is one of the most pressing debates in current International Relations. While scholars have examined a wide range of causes and consequences, one crucial dimension often remains underexplored: the role of affect.

In this talk, Ty Solomon focuses on the rise of global conservative right wing and reactionary movements as a key expression of the LIO’s fragmentation. While existing studies often rely on network analysis or intellectual histories to map their transnational spread, Solomon argues that we also need to understand how these movements are held together affectively—through shared emotional orientations and resonances that sustain alliances across borders.

Bringing in a micropolitical perspective, Solomon shifts attention from large-scale structures to the small, everyday performances and spaces that carry global political significance. He contends that without accounting for these affective dynamics, we cannot fully grasp the transformations currently reshaping the international order.

This lecture is a part of a two-day workshop “Methodological Approaches to Studying Emotions and Social Movements: Insights, Challenges, and New Research Avenues” organized by the CRC "Affective Societies" at the Freie Universität Berlin. 

Ty Solomon is Professor of International Relations in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow.  His research interests include international relations theory, critical security studies, American foreign relations, affects and emotions in global politics, global social movements, and interpretive methods.  He is the author of The Politics of Subjectivity in American Foreign Policy Discourses (University of Michigan Press), and has published in journals such as International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies, Cooperation and Conflict, Millennium, and others.