International Theory: Positivism and Beyond

by Steve Smith, Ken Booth (Editor), Marysia Zalewski (Editor)

This book brings together leading figures who have made key contributions to the development of international theory to provide a major survey of the state of the subject. The contributors analyze the traditional theoretical approaches in the discipline, the issues and groups that are marginalized by mainstream theory, and important new developments in international theory. The book concludes with five chapters that look at the future of the subject. This volume will be a valuable text for both students and scholars of international relations.

Genres: International Relations

380 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 1996

About the author

Steve^^^Smith

Reviews

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty years later, this book somehow feels contemporary. Whenever I'm looking for a fresh idea, I'll often come back to this book. For example, on the deficits of modern International Relations, I recently found this quote:

“Transhistorical complacency, a vacuous scientism, a mannered heteroglossia — these are the three sirens of the contemporary IR discipline.” This is from Fred Halliday's chapter.

In other words, the three main deficits of modern IR are: an inability to deal with the historical contingency of their theories and the development of world systems over time (or for that matter to take on current history), a science fetishism that ignores human factors and only makes truth statements in highly defined situations, and post-modern defeatism and relativism. Twenty years later, these still seem like the greatest deficits in IR.

You're sure to find many more gems in this book.

[Felipe Feitosa Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Material muito bom não só de discussão das relações do positivismo e do pós-positivismo nas Relações Internacionais, mas também do papel na mudança de paradigmas e a ampliação dos debates e transformação do campo.

Destaco a análise epistemológica e ontológica, assim como panorâmica, feita por Smith logo no primeiro capítulo. O autor, responsável pela edição da obra, discute de maneira extremamente direta e pedagógica, incluindo diversas referências, o positivismo subjacente ao desenvolvimento das ciências sociais e, principalmente, das teorias das RI.

[Kelvin Dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debates interessantíssimos e ricos. Tanto o positivismo quanto o pós-positivismo precisam rever alguns pontos. O campo de RI precisa superar a crença na neutralidade, o que não implica em cairmos no extremo da subjetividade e do relativismo.

A cereja do bolo foi o capítulo final, que traz algumas considerações acerca da perspectiva equivocada em achar que teoria e prática/mundo real são coisas dissociadas.

Muito bom. Um livro para revisitar futuramente.