Critical Theory Flashcards
Who are the common theorists associated with Critical Theory?
- Marx big boy (reworked)
- Gramsci
- The Frankfurt School lol
What was the Frankfurt School?
Established in the 1920/30s by left wing German jews
sought after understanding totalitarian rule and domination within history by looking at social development and historical context
their goal was to understand how big boys abuse their power and how to stop it from happening again lmao
What are the main ideologies of Critical Theory?
- Anti-positivist – knowledge is always ‘interested’
- Existing structures of international system have possibilities of change within them (immanent critique, agency, history)
- Importance of ideology/ ideas
- Importance of non-state actors and social forces
- Challenging current structures of inclusion/ exclusion
Who is the central theorist in Critical Theory?
Robert Cox
What did Robert Cox believe about Critical Theory?
He builds on Gramscian theory: theory is never objective and someone always has an opinion therefore there is always bias
He attacks (neo) realism: n.realism advocates the status quo as realists reinforce hegemony. They believe the world is unchangable. Cox calls this a problem solving theory.
How does Cox describe problem solving theories?
Problem solving theories are positivist and they sustain existing social structures which he believes are outdated.
What is positivism?
Positivism believes that…
- facts and values can be separated
- the researcher (the subject) can be separated from what is being researched (the object)
and therefore, research can always be objective
Critical theory on emancipation:
Theory should always seek to emancipate but emancipation is contested between critical theoriests
What does Marx believe about emancipation?
Marxist believed that spreading technology is emancipatory (spreads wealth/opportunity)
What do Adorno & Horkheimer believe about emancipation?
emancipation must take nature into account
What do Habermas & Linklater believe about emancipation?
must focus on participation in political process
What is the optimist standpoint on critical theory?
CTs assume the possibility of progress towards equality/ emancipation in international politics.
Robert Cox is one of these
Believe that both theory and politics can be detached from power-relations (most post-structuralists and feminists much more pessimistic)
