international relations theory
I want to remind interested parties that we've posted a call for suggestions for (1) the ISA Theory Section's "Distinguished Scholar" of 2014 and (2) the wording of the book prize. Vocal parties at the 2013 business meeting called for democratizing the process via this kind of mechanism; it would be a shame if Schmitt trumped Habermas when it came to these issues.
Also of note....
Political scientists often say that 'no one reads books anymore.' I'd add that 'almost no one reads book reviews.'
This is a shame. Although most book reviews are paint-by-numbers affairs, some smuggle in provocative claims or important statements about aspects of the field.* For example, in his Perspectives on Politics review of Miles Kahler, ed. Networked Politics: Agency, Power, and Governance, Zeev Maoz nails an important problem with one branch of work on social networks in international relations:
most network analysts would view the “networks as structures” versus “networks as actors” dichotomy as fundamentally flawed. The various chapters actually demonstrate this point. Even those authors who study networks as actors focus on the structure of the network and its effects on outcomes. Network analysis is capable not only of distinguishing between hierarchies and decentralized forms of connectivity but also of measuring them in quite precise ways.
On the provocative side, there's Cameron Thies' review (in the same issue) of two books, Christopher J. Fettweis's Dangerous Times? The International Politics of Great Power Peace and Gilulio M. Gallarotti's Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations: A Synthesis of Realism, Neoliberalism, and Constructivism.
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The eighteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Stefano Guzzini of the Danish Institute for International Studies and Uppsala University . Professor Guzzini discusses, among other things his intellectual and educational background, his important work on power in international affairs, realism, and geopolitics.
This podcast is a bit more "bare bones" than usual. I didn't put in introductory remarks; I have not produced an m4a version at this time. The file located here is the mp3 version. Explanation: I am bit pressed for time right now.
I should reiterate important change to procedures. From now on, the Minervacast feed will host mp3 versions of the podcasts. The whiteoliphaunt feed will host m4a versions of the podcast [note: see earlier remarks about the m4a version of this podcast]. Unless I hear otherwise, we will continue this approach into the foreseeable future.
The fifteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Barry Buzan. Professor Buzan discusses his academic and intellectual biography, his major works, and his ongoing projects. For additional background readers might consult the interview at Theory Talks or at the London School of Economics Department of International Relations blog. In short, Buzan is a toweringly influential figure in international relations in general, and outside the US in particular. He is also, among numerous contributions to the discipline, a former editor of the European Journal of International Relations.
Hi everyone. I haven’t been around much lately as I’ve been furiously writing a book. But it is almost done and I’m feeling reflective. Have you missed me? I’ve missed you. What’s that you say? Why yes, this is a new shirt. Thank you for noticing.
I thought that I would offer some thoughts about where I think international relations research is heading in the near to medium-term future, based on what I’ve noticed about the job market, what friends are writing, and the sometimes surprising reactions to what I am doing on the part of others. Obviously this is all anecdotal and unsystematic, as a good blog post should be.
First, we all know that the field is becoming more quantitative, but I don’t think that this is driven by a methodological fetish (at least on the part of those who are doing the work. I think the fetishists are the ones who don’t do this type of work but think it is necessary to have in their department irrespective of its content). I think it owes to a frustration with the inability of previous generations of international relations scholarship to say anything precise and with confidence. Well, let me put that differently. We are looking to say something precise and with accuracy. Some people might have said that states always maximize power but we all knew that was never true. And what does that even mean? What will that proverbial state do on Tuesday? Those arguments are essentially non-falsifiable. They are simply too elastic and too sweeping.
A strong correlation between cooperation and membership in international institutions is not enough to establish that international institutions cause cooperation. If we're to claim that institutions matter,
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The thirteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Nicholas Onuf. Nick is one of the "founding parents" of contemporary constructivism. His book, World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relation -- which has been reissued by Routledge -- introduced the term to describe an approach to the study of world politics.
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The thirteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Nicholas Onuf. Nick is one of the "founding parents" of contemporary constructivism. His book, World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relation -- which has been reissued by Routledge -- introduced the term to describe an approach to the study of world politics.
The podcast is wide-ranging -- part of oral history, part interview, part discussion -- such that I've had difficulty figuring out how to insert chapters. If you're listening via m4a, you'll see that the podcast has only a few chapter titles. "Enter Constructivism," for example, contains not only information about World of Our Making but also about the state of the field in the 1980s, the rise of liberal institutionalism, and so on.
The eleventh episode of the Duck of Minerva Podcast just went live. In it, I interview Janice Bially Mattern of the National University of Singapore. Her first monograph is Ordering International Politics: Identity, Crisis, and Representational Force (Routledge, 2005).
Contents
- Front Matter
- An Intellectual Introduction
- Ordering International Politics
- Transnational Organized Crime
- Hierarchy, Emotion, and Transnational Criminals
- The Multivocality of Mattern's Work
- Styles of Reasoning in IR
- Taking Over the International Studies Review
- International Theory Redux
- Working in Singapore
- End Matter
Note: podcasts now seem to be appearing every Friday, give or take. We'll see how long we can sustain it.
More slides from the talk after the fold.
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The tenth episode of the Duck of Minerva Podcast just went live. In it, I interview Vincent Pouliot of McGill University. His first monograph is International Security
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The eight episode of the Duck of Minerva Podcast just went live. In it, I interview Daniel Levine about his new book -- Recovering International
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From http://www.zazzle.com/This is the last in a series of guest posts by Stuart J. Kaufman of the University of Delaware. Stuart advances a long-running dispute with PTJ about whether
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This is the second in a series of guest posts by Stuart J. Kaufman of the University of Delaware. Stuart advances a long-running dispute with PTJ about whether "what
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I have long been intrigued by Orson Scott Card's typology of relations to the other, as expressed in his novel Speaker for the Dead. I
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The new TRIP survey is out. While the overall findings don't hold many surprises, there are some nuggets of interest. We'll have more to say later, but
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[warning: this post and the piece attached to is is only of interest to a handful of academics]The April 2011 issue of International Organization included a
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In between ultimate frisbee and lying around in bed sick, I managed to attend a workshop on network theory at the International Studies Asssociation. I
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