Overview of IR

Question 1

Meta-theory

Answer 1

study the underlying assumptions of theories and how these assumptions affect the practice of research

Question 2

what are the foundational assumptions of theories

Answer 2

ontology assumptions- what is the object of the study, what is the world made of?
epistemology- how do we know what we know
methodology- what methods do we use to find information

Question 3

first debate

Answer 3

idealism vs. realism- idealists focused on understanding and creating a better international system, but realists argue that idealists focus on how the world out to be and don’t look at how the world naturally is, and don’t use scientific methods in their work.

Question 4

Positivism

Answer 4

empirical analysis of international relations based on facts and the physical world

Question 5

second debate

Answer 5

behaviourists vs. traditionalists, behaviourist want the a positivist scientific approach while the traditionalists want a more interpretivist approach.

Question 6

behaviourism

Answer 6

the recognition that only the physical can be analysis, they tried to incorporate new scientific methods to traditional positivist

Question 7

third debate

Answer 7

theory choice vs. interpardigms debate- ideas started by Thomas Kuhn’s that new theories will arise to criticise the other and each theory has different paradigms and therefore will clash and not bring progress in knowledge. Theory choice believed that the discipline would only move forward if they chosen on dominant and correct theory to direct research.

Question 8

incommensurability

Answer 8

Thomas Kuhn’s interparadigm debate- theories are mutually exclusive

Question 9

how is the third debate different from the previous too

Answer 9

Science is not the central debate, positivism was accepted as a given.

Question 10

fourth debate

Answer 10

it consists of 3 sub debates:
explaining vs. understanding-looks at the natural sciences to explain society vs. focuses on interpretation and meaning
positivism vs. post-positivism- symetic empirical methods are the only valid information about the natural world, rejection of positivism
rationalism vs. reflectionism- rational choice theory, sees people as utility maximizers, application of positivist methods, reflectionism reject positivism and use more interpretivist methods.

Question 11

scientific realism

Answer 11

a challenge to positivism, redefines scientific knowledge as no one method of analysis can be universally applied (methodological pluralism) and that it is not the method makes it scientific but the content and ability to explain the unknown and unobservable. All claims are valid, but all must be testable and falsifiable.

Question 12

Alexander Wendt

Answer 12

most well known for apply scientific realism in his work

Question 13

what are the different theories in IR

Answer 13

explanatory theory- cause and effect, predicting political phenomenon

critical theory- a critique of major theories

Normative theory- how the world ought to be

constitutive theory- how does the object of analysis come to be constituted (made part of a whole). How do rules norms and ideas constitute social objects

Theory itself- the need to use theory to look at the social world is contested because social actors may make sense of their world without using logical rules and propositions which are the foundations of theory so social analysis can go beyond theory

Question 14

metatheoretical assumptions in IR

Answer 14

theory who’s subject is the study of another theory

Question 15

Truth vs. objective

Answer 15

truth 1 - something is a fact despite people’s view of it
truth 2- the relationship between language and the world (people define the truths of the external world there is no truth that is independent)
objective 2- claim is based on external empirical factors rather than internal thoughts and feelings
objective 2- remaining unbiased when conducting research

the definition of truth and objectivity is what divides the discipline

Question 16

how do different disciplines think that theoretical framework should be evaluated?

Answer 16

positivists- test theories against empirical patterns because empirical backing is the only way something can be made valid.

post-positivists- theories cannot be compared because their grounds are so different from each other

scientific and critical realists-criteria for comparison have to be holistic, but that even criticism of these theories are falsifiable.

Question 17

theory vs. practice

Answer 17

some say there are hard lines between theory and practice while other say the lines are blurred and theory explains the world and therefore it is practice or realistic.