ABSTRACT
In this prelude to my conceptual framework, I engage in a review of prominent International Relations accounts of community in beyond-the-state contexts. Based on this review, I identify a central problématique underlying these accounts: either explicitly or implicitly, they presuppose a shared lifeworld or background from which community emerges as meaningful to its members. In the absence of a predefined background – be it formal institutions or a fixed set of norms and values – community is said to be non-existing. To counter what I call the ‘community problem’, I advocate a praxiological conception of community that accounts for the practices by which groups of individuals come to share a sense of belonging. Understood as a practical phenomenon, community does have a normative background. Yet, it is entirely practice-based and continually evolves as members engage in shared practices.
