Scientific Realism and International Relations

by Joseph, Jonathan; Wight, Colin

• ISBN13: 9780230240063
• ISBN10: 0230240062
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Critical and scientific realism have emerged as important perspectives on international relations in recent years. The attraction of these approaches lies in the claim that they can transcend the positivism vs. postpositivism divide. This book demonstrates the vitality of this approach and the difference that "realism" makes.

Author Biography

JONATHAN JOSEPH is Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. He has published widely on scientific realism. His books include Marxism and Social Theory and Realism, Philosophy and Social Science (with Kathryn Dean, John Roberts and Colin Wight).

COLIN WIGHT is Professor of International Relations at the University of Exeter, UK, and Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of International Relations. His research focuses on the relationships between International Relations Theory, Social Theory, and the Philosophy of Social Science. He has published widely on these topics, including a book entitled Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
Notes on the Contributors	p. viii
Scientific Realism and International Relations	p. 1
Reductionism, Emergence and Explanation in International Relations Theory	p. 31
The International as Emergent: Challenging Old and New Orthodoxies in International Relations Theory	p. 51
State Theory in International Relations: Why Realism Matters	p. 69
Inside the American State: Reconciling Structural and Interpretive Analyses within a Critical Realist Perspective	p. 88
What is Realism in International Law and Human Rights?	p. 101
Is it Real? The Question of Juridical, Actual and Causal Responsibility in Sovereign Debt Settlements	p. 115
Critical Realism and the Analysis of Democratisation: Does Philosophy of Science Matter?	p. 129
Exploring Possible, Likely and Desirable Global Futures: Beyond the Closed vs Open Systems Dichotomy	p. 147
Critical Realism, International Relations Theory and Marxism	p. 167
World Market, World State, World Society: Marxian Insights and Scientific Realist Interrogations	p. 186
Realism. For Real this Time: Scientific Realism is not a Compromise between Positivism and Interpretivism	p. 203
Bibliography	p. 228
Index	p. 251
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