International Relations Theory A New Introduction

1. International Relations TheoryA New Introduction Chapter 9 A Guide to Creative Theorizing

2. Introduction • How theory? • How do we theorize? • How do we learn to think theoretically? • Aim of this chapter: Encourage students to engage in active theorizing and develop skills in theoretical thinking!

3. What Do Theorist Do When They Theorize? Mosaic of four reflections: • Metaphor of painting (Puchala, Waltz) • Linkages between theory construction and current affairs weaker than in journalism or week-to-week policy affairs (Nardin) • Distinction between theory and facts (Waltz) • A set of skills vs. a set of predispositions/intellectual competences (Rosenau and Dufee)

4. Assumptions Claims or propositions Concepts or sets of concepts Levels-of-Analysis Definitions Kinds of theory Scope Philosophical underpinnings Hypotheses Criteria for good theory Specification of actors, structures and processes Variables Inductive and deductive reasoning Eclecticism Building Blocks for Theory Building

5. Theoretical Synthesis • Can be truly innovative and bring about some truly novel analytical options • Ambiguous and hotly contested way of theorizing • Synthesis = • outcome of mergers or fusion • discrete theories situated on a common platform • subsuming process

6. Twisting Theories • Theories shaped by means of a range of different epistemological commitments • Option of twisting can be generalized in two fashions • Example: Constructivism can be combined with major substantive theoretical traditions. • There is a similar option for other second-order theories, including rational choice, behavioralism, positivism, scientific realism.

7. Complementary or Competitive Approaches? • Two perspectives are established on different assumptions, contribute different insights, but their relationship is not necessarily competitive or conflicting. • Relationship can actually be complementary and contribute to enhance our understanding of e.g. American foreign policy or uneven processes of globalization • The issue of complementarity takes us to the potentials of eclecticism!

8. Best Western? “Why is there no non-western IR Theory?” (Acharya and Buzan, 2003)

9. Problem-Driven Theorizing Scope Kinds of Theory Procedures of Theory Building Building Blocks Important Features Import Options Teamwork Consult other sources of inspiration For which reason? Problems Abound Ahead! Eleven steps: DIY Manual in Theorizing

10. Conclusion • DIY theorizing is possible and desirable • Toolbox = DIY manual for theorizing • Even if the outcome of theorizing is not a neat path-breaking theory, the theorizing process will undoubtedly trigger a better understanding of existing theories • Through the process of building your own theory you will become familiar with existing theories in ways that are fundamentally different from just reading about them

11. Exercises • Find more illustrative examples – pieces of mosaics like – and discuss the implications of each conception of theorizing! • Deconstruct a given theory by identifying its building blocks! • Identify three different ways of synthesizing. Discuss the pros and cons of each!