International Relations in For Whom the Bell Tolls, the Honorary Consul and Shalimar the Clown

Abstract

International Relations is a broad area that includes the relations between states, international organizations and non-state organizations. It also includes various issues, such as diplomatic relations of states, international cooperation, conflict and peace. Further, it explicates relations among individuals across states and regions. Diplomatic and international relations can be deliberated in multiple disciplines, such as history, culture, and literature. Literature, mainly narrative works, is rich sources of informationfor studying International Relations. This dissertation analyzes issues and ideas of International Relations represented in modern novelistic discourses, such asErnest Hemingway‟sFor Whom the Bell Tolls(1940), Graham Greene‟s The Honorary Consul(1973),and Salman Rushdie‟sShalimar the Clown (2005). Applying a multidisciplinary approach, this research posits the contribution of these narratives to an in-depth comprehension of diplomatic and international relations. In that line of thought it addresses some pertinent questions: In what ways do International Relations theories contribute to the study area for literary narratives? How do literary narratives such as novels bolster the understanding and analysis of International Relations?What issues and theories of International Relations do Hemingway‟s For Whom the Bell Tolls, Greene‟s The Honorary Consul, and Rushdie‟s Shalimar the Clown imply? The research objectives of the research are to highlight the importance of issues and theories of International Relations in the study of literature and apply them to study literary narratives; to justify the role of literary narratives in the understanding of relations of different nation-states; and to analyze Hemingway‟s For Whom the Bell Tolls, Greene‟s The Honorary Consul, and Rushdie‟s Shalimar the Clown to explain the issues and theories of International Relations implicit in them. This research claims that literary narratives are great sources to explain International Relations because they deliberate upon issues of International Relations like war, conflict and peace, friendship and enmity, diplomacy, cross-border transactions, operation of non-state institutes, foreign policy, strategic studies, great powers, and the balance of powers. They also explain other International Relations issues like human rights, international society, violence, democracy, prosperity, treaties, climate change, organized crimes, human security, foreign intervention, and ideas (theories) of International Relations like realism, liberalism (idealism), Constructivism, eco-criticism, Marxism, globalization, and terrorism. This study has followed the methodology of applying realist, idealist, and constructivist traditions of International Relations theories as tools to analyze the selected literary works. In orthodox International Relations study, these theories are solely analyzed to describe the relation between and among nations, but in the post- modern period, these theories have been rethought as tools to analyze the elements of International Relations in cultural artifacts like narrative/fictional works. Love and diplomacy are intermingling features in the field of International Relations. In all these three novels, activities related to love are linked with diplomatic figures. The Spanish Civil War, an inherent subject of For Whom the Bell Tolls, was a conflict of power, and it is an issue of Realist International theory. The protagonist Robert Jordan goes after the international alliance for the success of the republican side. It is an issue related to the Idealist International Relations theory. The novel also exposes the clash of ideologies of two opposing sides: fascism and communism. The ideology is an element of Constructivist International Relations theory. The next novel The Honorary Consul mentions the cross-border activities that are related to International Relations. Paraguay under the rule of General Stroessner is very much aggressive towards rebel groups. Leon Rivas works selflessly for the sake of good for the people, to make the nation free from the hand of cruel ruler. His utopian thought is concerned with Idealist International Relations theory. The state creates anarchy that is related to constructivism. The third novel Shalimar the Clown includes customs, cultures, beliefs, and diplomacy of different countries. The activities of the US diplomat Maximilian Ophuls are related to Realist International Relations. He is the source of anarchy in Kashmir. The issue of Kashmir, a place once utopia changed into dystopia, is the issue of Idealist International Relations. The novel keeps the ingredients of cultural diplomacy to promote mutual relationships between the nations and their people. Cultural diplomacy is an issue of Constructivist International Relations theory. The novel provides a glimpse of the image of the Cold- War novel. In conclusion, all three novels analyzed in this dissertation include the issues and ideas that are related to International Relations. Keywords: constructivism, cross-border activities, diplomacy, idealism, realism, utopia