This chapter focuses on the major debates within International Relations (IR) theory with regard to the philosophy of social science. The philosophy of social science has played a key role in the formation, development, and practice of IR as an academic discipline. Issues concerning the philosophy of social science are frequently described as meta-theoretical debates. Meta-theory primarily deals with the underlying assumptions of all theory and attempts to understand the consequences of such assumptions on the act of theorizing and the practice of empirical research. The chapter first provides an historical overview of the philosophy of social science in IR before discussing both the implicit and explicit roles played by meta-theoretical assumptions in IR. It then considers the contemporary disciplinary debates surrounding the philosophy of social science and concludes by analysing how theoretical approaches to the study of world politics have been shaped by meta-theoretical ideas.
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3. International Relations and Social Science
Milja Kurki and Colin Wight
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5. Democracies
Aníbal Pérez-Liñán
This chapter examines the key features of modern democracy, as well as its origins. It first explains what democracy means in the field of comparative politics, before discussing different models of democracy, including presidential democracy, parliamentary democracy, and democracies oriented towards consensus or majoritarian rule. It then describes the conditions—economic and political, domestic, and international—that allow some countries to become democratic but preserve others under the rule of dictatorships. In particular, it analyses the variables that facilitate the democratization of dictatorships and the factors that place democracies at risk of becoming authoritarian regimes. Finally, it reflects on the future of democracy and looks at the challenges that lie ahead for new generations of citizens.
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Introduction to Comparative Politics
Daniele Caramani
This text provides a comprehensive introduction to comparative politics. Comparative politics is an empirical science that deals primarily with domestic politics. It is one of the three main subfields of political science, alongside international relations and political theory. Comparative politics has three goals: to describe differences and similarities between political systems and their features; to explain these differences; and to predict which factors may cause specific outcomes. This edition compares the most important features of national political systems and contains chapters on integration, globalization, and promotion of democracy in non-Western parts of the world. This introductory chapter explains what comparative politics is, and discusses its substance as well as method.
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4. Classical Realism
Michael C. Williams
This chapter examines the central assumptions of classical realism and its significance for analysis of international politics. Classical realism draws on a wide range of historical figures, from the Greek historian Thucydides, through Renaissance thinkers such as Nicolo Machiavelli, the early modern philosopher Thomas Hobbes, and prominent post-war thinkers such as E. H. Carr and Hans Morgenthau. This chapter examines classical realists’ understandings of the idea of human nature, the state and its role in international politics, the role of power and great powers, and also realism’s relationship with ‘modernity’. The case study discusses classical realism in relation to the Ukraine war. The chapter emphasizes the way in which classical realism recognizes the complexity of international politics and dilemmas which inhere in it.
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9. Marxism
Alexander Anievas
This chapter examines why and how Marxist theory matters for the study of international relations. It explicates core Marxist concepts and arguments and shows their relevance for understanding of various processes in international politics, from power, hegemony, and inequality to imperialism. The chapter first provides an overview of historical materialism and the meaning of dialectical theory, with particular emphasis on Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism. The chapter then discusses the myths and misunderstandings of Marxism, Marxist theories of imperialism and world systems theory, followed by a discussion of Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and the idea of uneven and combined development. The case study puts forward a Marxist interpretation of the transformations during the era of the two world wars (1914–45) showing how multidimensional forces highlighted by Marxist concepts played a crucial role in the dynamics of this time.
