Title

Positivism 'vs' Postmodernism: Does Epistemology Make a Difference?

Authors

Authors

D. P. Houghton

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Int. Polit.

Keywords

postmodernism; philosophy of science; epistemology; positivism; International Relations; Political Science

Abstract

Since the 1990s, international relations theory (IR) has supposedly been in the grip of a 'Third Debate', this time between positivism and postmodernism. While many have cast doubt as to whether this is in fact the case, and others have argued that it is time to move beyond it, it remains true to say that the issue of positivism vs postpositivism has occupied the minds of a number of academic analysts in recent years. This article takes the more radical position of questioning whether this epistemological debate - if, indeed, one accepts that there is one - has any real import in the sense of influencing the empirical research that IR scholars actually conduct. In short, whether one embraces a positivist or a postmodernist epistemology (for example) has little practical effect upon one's empirical findings. By extension, this argument suggests that the emphasis on the philosophical underpinnings of IR, while not necessarily misconceived in and of itself, has thus far not been central to what IR scholars actually do. International Politics (2008) 45, 115-128. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800222

Journal Title

International Politics

Volume

45

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-2008

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

115

Last Page

128

WOS Identifier

WOS:000207629000001

ISSN

1384-5748

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