International Relations' Last Synthesis?

International Relations' Last Synthesis? PDF Author: J. Samuel Barkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190463430
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Many scholars, intentionally or unintentionally, have entangled constructivisms and critical theories in problematic ways, either by assigning a critical-theoretical politics to constructivisms or by assuming the appropriateness of constructivist epistemology and methods for critical theorizing. IR's Last Synthesis? makes the argument that these connections mirror IR's grand theoretical syntheses of the 1980s and 1990s and have similar constraining effects on the possibilities of IR theory. They have been made without adequate reflection, in contradiction to the base assumptions of each theoretical perspective, and to the detriment of both knowledge accumulation about global politics and theoretical rigor in disciplinary IR. It is not that constructivisms and critical theories have no common ground; rather, the fact that it has become routine for IR scholars to overstate their common ground is counterproductive to the discovery and utilization of their potential dialogues. To that end, IR's Last Synthesis? argues that scholars using the two in conjunction should be cognizant of, rather than gloss over, the tensions between the approaches and the tools they have to offer. Along these lines, the book uses the concept of affordances to look at what each has to offer the other, and to argue for a modest, reflective, specified return to (constructivist and critical) IR theorizing. By rejecting its over-simple syntheses, this book hews a road toward reviving IR theorizing.

International Relations' Last Synthesis?

International Relations' Last Synthesis? PDF Author: J. Samuel Barkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190463430
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
Many scholars, intentionally or unintentionally, have entangled constructivisms and critical theories in problematic ways, either by assigning a critical-theoretical politics to constructivisms or by assuming the appropriateness of constructivist epistemology and methods for critical theorizing. IR's Last Synthesis? makes the argument that these connections mirror IR's grand theoretical syntheses of the 1980s and 1990s and have similar constraining effects on the possibilities of IR theory. They have been made without adequate reflection, in contradiction to the base assumptions of each theoretical perspective, and to the detriment of both knowledge accumulation about global politics and theoretical rigor in disciplinary IR. It is not that constructivisms and critical theories have no common ground; rather, the fact that it has become routine for IR scholars to overstate their common ground is counterproductive to the discovery and utilization of their potential dialogues. To that end, IR's Last Synthesis? argues that scholars using the two in conjunction should be cognizant of, rather than gloss over, the tensions between the approaches and the tools they have to offer. Along these lines, the book uses the concept of affordances to look at what each has to offer the other, and to argue for a modest, reflective, specified return to (constructivist and critical) IR theorizing. By rejecting its over-simple syntheses, this book hews a road toward reviving IR theorizing.

International Relations' Last Synthesis?

International Relations' Last Synthesis? PDF Author: J. Samuel Barkin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780190463458
Category : Constructivism
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Many scholars, intentionally or unintentionally, have entangled constructivisms and critical theories in problematic ways, either by assigning a critical-theoretical politics to constructivisms or by assuming the appropriateness of constructivist epistemology and methods for critical theorizing. This book makes the argument that these connections mirror the grand theoretical syntheses of International Relations (IR) in the 1980s and 1990s, and have similar constraining effects on the possibilities of International Relations theory. These connections have been made without adequate reflection, in contradiction to the base assumptions of each theoretical perspective, and to the detriment of both knowledge accumulation about global politics and theoretical rigor in disciplinary International Relations. It is not that constructivisms and critical theories have no common ground but instead that the overstatement of their common ground that has become routine among International Relations scholars is counterproductive to the discovery and utilization of their potential dialogues. To that end, this book argues that scholars using the two in conjunction should be cognizant of, rather than gloss over, the tensions between them as approaches and the different tools they have to offer. Along these lines, the book uses the concept of affordances to look at what each has to offer the other, and to argue for a modest, reflective, specified return to (constructivist and critical) International Relations theorizing that has the potential to revive International Relations theorizing by rejecting its oversimple syntheses.

Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations

Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations PDF Author: Giulio M. Gallarotti
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139489941
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
How can nations optimize their power in the modern world system? Realist theory has underscored the importance of hard power as the ultimate path to national strength. In this vision, nations require the muscle and strategies to compel compliance and achieve their full power potential. But in fact, changes in world politics have increasingly encouraged national leaders to complement traditional power resources with more enlightened strategies oriented around the use of soft power resources. The resources to compel compliance have to be increasingly integrated with the resources to cultivate compliance. Only through this integration of hard and soft power can nations truly achieve their greatest strength in modern world politics, and this realization carries important implications for competing paradigms of international relations. The idea of power optimization can only be delivered through the integration of the three leading paradigms of international relations: Realism, Neoliberalism, and Constructivism.

International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought

International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought PDF Author: Eric Laferrière
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415164788
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
This groundbreaking book will be a point of departure for all international relations and political theorists, as well as those involved with environmental policy and philosophy.

International Relations Theories

International Relations Theories PDF Author: Tim Dunne
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198814445
Category : International relations
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Unrivalled coverage of IR theories from leading experts, featuring a new chapter that reflects on the historic marginalisation of global IR and a wide range of case studies that show readers how theory can be applied to address concrete political problems.

International Organization

International Organization PDF Author: J. Samuel Barkin
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031225597
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
This comprehensively revised and updated edition offers an introduction to international organizations (IO) theory in the field of IR. It looks at the different ways in which IOs are studied and then applies these different modes to a variety of specific case studies. The book is written as a primer for students studying global governance and IR theory. It highlights analytic tools available to understand what IOs are designed to do, how they work, what effects they have, and how to design them better. It goes beyond simple questions of whether IOs matter, and looks at the ways in which the different analytical tools developed within the rubric of IO theory are useful for answering different questions about the role of IOs in international politics.

International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought

International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought PDF Author: Eric Laferrière
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134710674
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Ecological crises have never been higher on the international political agenda. However, ecological thought and international relations theory have developed as separate disciplines. This ground-breaking study looks at the relationship between ecological thought and international relations theory arguing that there are shared concerns: peace, co-operation and security. The authors ask what ecological crisis can teach IR theorists as well as what ecological perspectives have been adopted by governments and international NGOs.

Introduction to International Relations

Introduction to International Relations PDF Author: Georg Sørensen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198862202
Category : International relations
Languages : en
Pages : 467

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Book Description
Comprehensive coverage of all major classical and contemporary theories and approaches, the text focuses on the connections between theory and current issues in international relations.

The New Constructivism in International Relations Theory

The New Constructivism in International Relations Theory PDF Author: David M. McCourt
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1529217830
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Tracing constructivist work on culture, identity and norms within the historical, geographical and professional contexts of world politics, this book makes the case for new constructivist approaches to international relations scholarship.

Realism and International Relations

Realism and International Relations PDF Author: Patrick James
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197645046
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 649

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Book Description
Realism is one of the core theories within the field of international relations, and it generally posits a state system characterized by anarchy where states act in what they perceive to be their own self interests. It is a controversial theory, and it has many opponents. Yet effective debate among realists and those who identify with other schools of thought has diminished dramatically over time. As Patrick James argues in Realism and International Relations, scholars in the field have become dissatisfied with results from exchanges in words alone. He contends that translation of the vast amount of information in the field into knowledge requires a greater emphasis on communication beyond the use of text. Given the challenges posed by existing and intensifying information overload, he develops a new model that relies on the graphic representation of analytical arguments. As James explains, realist scholarship in the post-World War II era is the natural domain for the application of systemism, a graphic form of expression with straightforward rules for portrayal of analytical arguments, notably cause and effect within theories. Systemism goes beyond prior iterations of systems theory to offer a visualization technique borrowed and adapted from the philosophy of science. Systemist graphics reveal the shortcomings, contributions and potential of realism. These visualizations, which focus on realist theories about war, are intended to bring order out of what critics tend to describe, with some justification, as chaos. In sum, a graphic turn for realism in particular and international relations in general is essential in order to achieve the scientific progress that otherwise is likely to remain elusive. A major theoretical work by an eminent scholar, this will be of interest to all theorists focusing how the international system of states actually functions.