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Methodological nationalism and the domestic analogy: Classical resources for their critique
Forthcoming in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (special issue edited by George Lawson and Robbie Shilliam)
Daniel Chernilo*
Abstract
The critique of methodological nationalism first arose in the early 1970s, but it was only with rise – and later
decline – of globalization theory that it gained salience in sociology. We have no doubt moved a long way in
clarifying what we mean by, and what is wrong with, methodological nationalism but the consequences of this
debate do not seem to have been fully felt in International Relations yet. This paper seeks to redress this
imbalance by arguing that international relations’ discussion on the so-called domestic analogy is the particular
expression within this discipline of the broader sociological debate on methodological nationalism. In fact, I
shall contend that both problems point to a similar substantive direction; namely, whether the nation-state is
the fundamental building block of the modern society. In terms of structure, the first section of this article
revisits what I consider are the three waves of the debate on methodological nationalism in sociology. The
second part connects this discussion with international relations’ debate on the domestic analogy. The last
section of this piece brings the two discussions together by arguing that social theory’s claim to universalism
is a fundamental resource to theorise current global processes beyond both methodological nationalism and
the domestic analogy. But for us to unpack fully this claim to universalism, we have to be prepared to
acknowledge, and come to terms with, social theory’s ambivalent relationship to natural law.
Keywords: Domestic Analogy, International Relations, International Society, Methodological Nationalism,
Natural Law, Sociology, Social Theory, Universalism, World Society
Word Count: 9200 words
Last revision: 13 October 2008