Imagining the Relational Through Speculative Fiction: Survival, Possibility, and Creativity

Abstract

The concept of “imagination” has a complex role within the field of International Relations (IR). IR scholars are often trained to be grounded in “realities,” whether historical facts or data points. In IR scholarship, we see occasional calls for imaginative approaches and even to take fictional works seriously as resources for exploration. However, beyond creativity as an occasional activity, there are compelling reasons to incorporate creativity in all its forms into IR scholarship. One often-overlooked form of creativity in IR scholarship is speculative novels. These imaginative works have the potential to broaden the horizons of our academic perspectives. Thus, in the spirit of bringing about a more creative IR, this article uses the novels Station Eleven (St John Mandel, 2014) and Children of Time (Tchaikovsky, 2015) to push what can be imagined about interstellar relations, human relations, transpecies relations, survival, and the future of IR.