A Speculative Lexicon of Entanglement

Abstract

This intervention offers a speculative lexicon to help students and scholars of global politics think critically and creatively about entanglement. It is neither definitive nor complete, but instead offers some possible points of entry into a contested field. It mobilises two particular claims: (1) that entanglement always involves both human and non-human entities; and (2) that entanglement is always emergent and in process. As a whole, this speculative lexicon is intended to help us sense the moment when entanglements intensify in ways that render them stable; attune to these durabilities in order to analyse their constitutive logics of inclusion/exclusion; acknowledge our own irrevocable entanglement in these logics; care for those bodies, lifeworlds, species and habitats that are targeted or abandoned by such logics; and craft mutual projects to disrupt, disaggregate and re-route these logics. Because entanglements are always emerging, dissipating and reconvening, the practice of navigating this open terrain is disorienting and often frustrating. We may desire a final destination where entanglements solidify and horizons magically appear, but giving in to that desire reproduces the violence of enclosure. This lexicon is offered as a way to keep the political terrain of entanglement open so we can collectively ensure that contestation remains a possibility.