Synopses & Reviews
The book is an introduction to new debates in international relations. It shows why anyone who wants the best answer to foreign policy problems, like how to deal with North Korea's nuclear arms program, must look at debates in IR theory, and also debates in metatheory. The latter involve questions about whether IR is much or little like the natural sciences, whether prediction is possible, and the like. The book poses policy questions intended to motivate students to think critically about the assumptions and beliefs that underlay particular policy recommendations. It shows the specific links between those policy choices and principles of international relations theories and the further links to philosophical claims about how to choose the best theory. The book thus shows why it is important to examine and contrast the competing scientific-style rationalist foundations of social science theory with constructivist and postmodern positions, since each offers a different way of understanding what constitutes a good theory of international relations.
Review
"This book is a rare attempt to practice what so often is preached in the study of International Relations. The study takes major debates in the philosophy of inquiry and abstract battles over theory and shows why they matter in the most practical of all contexts. Historically important examples of US decision-making are used to show how and why results could be improved if those in charge in the real world thought more deeply about the foundations of their choices in theory and even meta-theory. The book is a fascinating 'read' because of the way in which the decision to invade Iraq, challenges from North Korea's nuclear program and the rise of China as a world power are integrated into a sophisticated treatment of theoretical controversies in the field of International Relations. This book will interest academics in that discipline as well as those in the more applied world of foreign policy decision-making. I recommend the work with great enthusiasm."
--Patrick James, Director, Center for International Studies, University of Southern California "Fred Chernoff provides a seminal exploration of questions central to the study of international politics. How do we justify our claims to provide an understanding of international relations? On what basis can we make recommendations to policy makers? Chernoff's answer is rooted in a rich and compelling defense of conventionalism, one that takes seriously the special problems confronted by social scientists and scholars of world politics. He also provides a concise, accessible, and sophisticated overview of major debates in the philosophies of science and social science. All scholars and students of international relations should read this book, as should anyone interested in the philosophy of social science."--Daniel H. Nexon, Department of Government and School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University "Fred Chernoff has written a sorely-needed text that goes a long way towards filling in the gaps in most IR scholars' understanding of the philosophical issues implicated in theory choice. The book both introduces readers to some key issues in the philosophy of science and illustrates the concrete implications of those philosophical debates for the practice of IR scholarship. Taking as his starting-point the idea that IR scholarship should be about providing policymakers with reliable guidelines for action, Chernoff incisively discusses how a variety of naturalist and anti-naturalist perspectives either contribute to or hinder that goal. The book should put to rest once and for all the misconception that meta-theory is irrelevant to the production of empirical knowledge about world politics."
--Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Associate Professor of International Relations in the School of International Service, American University and author of Civilizing the Enemy (2007)
Synopsis
This book uses three controversial contemporary American foreign policy problems to introduce students to the 'new debates' in international relations, in which the criticisms of constructivism, interpretivism, and postmodernism are presented against traditional positivist concepts of social science.
About the Author
Fred Chernoff is Harvey Picker Professor International Relations and Director of the International Relations Program at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY. He is author of The Power of International Theory (2005) and After Bipolarity (1995) and is contributor to many journals of international relations, political science and philosophy, including International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Review of International Studies, Millennium and European Journal of International Relations. Professor Chernoff holds a Ph.D. degree in Political Science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University.
Table of Contents
Introduction * International Politics Theory Policy and the New Debates * Policy Decisions and Theories of International Relations * International Relations and Scientific Criteria for Choosing a Theory * Attacking the Scientific Approach: Interpretive Constructivism, Postructuralism and Critical Theory * Conclusion: Contending Approaches to the Study of International Relations