tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post5989205936627772476..comments2024-03-28T16:15:19.319-04:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: Coming Out of the IR Theory ClosetSteve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-37220175743289017262013-05-30T11:56:35.792-04:002013-05-30T11:56:35.792-04:00To some extent, I think this shows the limited val...To some extent, I think this shows the limited value of paradigmatic categories in conveying useful information about your theoretical affiliations.<br /><br />If all 'realism' has become is 'takes power dynamics seriously as a causal factor', I imagine the overwhelming majority of people in the field would then be realists.<br /><br />Carr advocated that 'realism' be understood more as a mode of historical interrogation and critique directed at universalist aspirations, but this understanding does not seem popular.<br /><br />At the same time, if 'constructivism' is simply the view that social reality is at least partially constituted by intersubjective beliefs, or linguistic performances, I doubt that many people would disagree. After all, this position does not require that one theorise all change in terms of norm-change, but simply to recognise that norms are ontologically substantial. If you think money exists, you're a constructivist.<br /><br />And if we're all realists and all constructivists, then neither term helps place ourselves.Simonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-70642419566239247682013-05-29T11:43:37.915-04:002013-05-29T11:43:37.915-04:00My impression is that you're a student of fore...My impression is that you're a student of foreign policy which is different than IR. But I guess that's another debate in itself. More to your point there are powerful incentives to go to Harvard. Elite PHD programs from what I've heard provide better funding packages to grad students and certainly perform a more useful signalling function in the labour market. Similarly there are powerful incentives supporting the classic realist view on anarchy. Vladimirhttp://cirovskiv.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com