International Relations Theory as a Social Science

Özet

Alıhough its subjcct mattcr covcrs dccisions and pratiqucs whosedircct or indirect influcncc on thc livcs of statcs, countries and thcreforc,individuals cannot bc neglectcd, thc study of intcrnational Relations (IR) hasyet failcd to achicvc a status of proper scicncc. This essay inquires therelative position of thc disciplinc versus general social thcory, itscomparative povcrty in thc cpistcmological1 and mcthodological altcrnativeapproachcs and poses the question vvhether this povcrty is an outeome of thethcorctical povcrty; or more concisely, thc domination of the disciplinc byonc single paradigm for half a ccntury: Rcalism. So far, thc study contends,thc political and social milicu in vvhich intcrnational Relations has developedas an acadcmic pursuit, vvas not sufficiently ripe for a compctition oftheoretical pcrspcclivcs. Thc occurrcnccs of the last tvvo dccadcs in thc ficldhave refleeted on the pcrception and conccptuali/.ation of statcs' relations vvilhcach other and on a plethora of thcorctical approachcs the basic tenet of vvhichis an opposilion to ıhc posilivist orienied realist thcory of IR.