Critical Approaches to IR Lecture PDF
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Uploaded by ChivalrousAbundance
Jagiellonian University
Marcin Zubek
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Summary
This lecture presents various critical approaches to international relations, including post-positivist theories, post-structuralism, post-colonialism, feminism, and Marxism. It explores concepts such as knowledge construction, social power, and cultural hegemony within the field of international relations.
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Critical Approaches to IR Marcin Zubek, JUK ▪ Explanatory v. constitutive (postpositivist) theories ▪ Knowledge is not neutral and the theorists are insiders Why? v. How? ▪ There is no single, final truth, objective empirical observation is not posible ▪ Social world is a construction of the m...
Critical Approaches to IR Marcin Zubek, JUK ▪ Explanatory v. constitutive (postpositivist) theories ▪ Knowledge is not neutral and the theorists are insiders Why? v. How? ▪ There is no single, final truth, objective empirical observation is not posible ▪ Social world is a construction of the most powerful states. This construction is reproduced by traditional IR scholars ▪ Problem solving v. emancipatory (neoMarxist) knowledge ▪ Main IR theories are just stories told from a certain point of view Poststructuralism ▪ Criticism of ahistorical nature of traditional IR theories ▪ Uncovering stories behind theories, but no positive alternative ▪ Discoursive turn and assigning meanings Meaning ▪ Cultural hegemony of the ‘West’ as opposed to the ‘East’ ▪ The West took away the ability of the East to define itself Postcolonialism ▪ Western description of „the Other”, Eastern cultures ▪ East viewed as: illogical, emotional, mysterious, c apricious ▪ Postcolonialism in cultural texts today Feminism Influence of inequalities between men and women on world politics Gendered perspective on security ▪ Lack of methodology Criticism of the critical ▪ Extreme subjectivity ▪ Extreme politicisation of theories in general ▪ Biased generalisations also on the postpositivist side ▪ Inspired by writings of Carl Marx ▪ Interdisciplinary in nature – world should be analysed in its entirety ▪ Theory of social change and conflict Marxism ▪ Social class as a main dividing variable (owners v. workers) ▪ Historical materialism ▪ The base and the superstructure ▪ Emancipatory ▪ The World System Theory by Wallerstein ▪ Core, Semi-Core and Peripheries Marxism in IR ▪ Hierarchical and based on economic power ▪ Hegemonic power (Gramsci) ▪ Dependency The Globalization of World Politics AnIntroduction toInternational Relations Edited byJohnBaylis,SteveSmith, and Patricia Owens, p. 147
