Whither Political Theory Without Methodological Nationalism?

Political theorists argue that empirical social science and normative theory have been problematically shaped and structured by state and nation-building, i.e., by methodological nationalism (Dumitru 2014; Sager 2018). Attention to methodological nationalism has provided important insights into how epistemological assumptions have distorted debates around border controls, citizenship, multiculturalism, territory, and much else. It also gives rise to the need for alternative methodological approaches that do not illegitimately center the state. This paper assesses four leading alternative candidates: "methodological de-nationalism" (Anderson 2019); "methodological cosmopolitanism" (Beck 2006); building theories in which mobility takes priority (Cresswell 2010; Glick Schiller and Salazar 2013; Nail 2015); and grounding theory in the perspective of migrants or refugees (Sager 2018). I argue that though each of these approaches contains valuable insights, they fail to provide a fully adequate alternative methodological framework. In particular, these approaches have trouble incorporating key state actors or obscure or eliminate political conflicts. Rather than achieving an overarching theoretical approach to replace state-centered political thinking, we must settle with a more modest methodological approach grounded in pragmatism and pluralism. References: Anderson, B. (2019) ‘New directions in migration studies: towards methodological de-nationalism’, Comparative Migration Studies, 7(1), p. 36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-019-0140-8. Beck, Ulrich (2006) Cosmopolitan Vision. Malden, MA: Polity Press. Cresswell, T. (2010) ‘Towards a politics of mobility’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28(1), pp. 17–31. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1068/d11407. Dumitru, S. (2014) ‘Qu’est-ce Que Le Nationalisme Methodologique?’, Raisons Politiques, 52, pp. 9–22. Glick Schiller, N. and Salazar, N.B. (2013) ‘Regimes of Mobility Across the Globe’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39(2), pp. 183–200. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.723253. Nail, T. (2015) The Figure of the Migrant. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. Sager, A. (2016) ‘Methodological Nationalism, Migration and Political Theory’, Political Studies, 64(1), pp. 42–59. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12167. Sager, A. (2018) Toward a cosmopolitan ethics of mobility: the migrant’s-eye view of the world. New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media (Mobility & politics, 14800).