Progress in International Relations Theory: Appraising the Field (BCSIA Studies in International Security) (Belfer Center Studies in International Security)

All academic disciplines periodically appraise their effectiveness, evaluating the progress of previous scholarship and judging which approaches are useful and which are not. Although no field could survive if it did nothing but appraise its progress, occasional appraisals are important and if done well can help advance the field.This book investigates how international relations theorists can better equip themselves to determine the state of scholarly work in their field. It takes as its starting point Imre Lakatos's influential theory of scientific change, and in particular his methodology of scientific research programs (MSRP). It uses MSRP to organize its analysis of major research programs over the last several decades and uses MSRP's criteria for theoretical progress to evaluate these programs. The contributors appraise the progress of institutional theory, varieties of realist and liberal theory, operational code analysis, and other research programs in international relations. Their analyses reveal the strengths and limits of Lakatosian criteria and the need for metatheoretical metrics for evaluating scientific progress. Foreword: Thoughts about Assaying Theories Kenneth N. Waltz vii 1. Introduction: Appraising Progress in International Relations Theory Colin Elman and Miriam Fendius Elman 2. Lessons from Lakatos Colin Elman and Miriam Fendius Elman 21 Part I. Applying Lakatos: Judging Theoretical and Empirical Progress in IR Theory 3. Institutional Theory as a Research Program Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin 71 4. The Power Transition Research Program: A Lakatosian Analysis Jonathan M. DiCicco and Jack S. Levy 109 5. Liberal International Relations Theory: A Scientific Assessment Andrew Moravcsik 159 6. A Lakatosian View of the Democratic Peace Research Program James Lee Ray 205 7. Operational Code Analysis as a Scientific Research Program: A Cautionary Tale Stephen G. Walker 245 8. Realism, Neoliberalism, and Cooperation: Understanding the Debate Robert Jervis 277 9. The Progressiveness of Neoclassical Realism Randall L. Schweller 311 10. "Is" and "Ought": Evaluating Empirical Aspects of Normative Research Jack Snyder 349 Part II. Commentaries on Lakatos, and Beyond 11. Explanation and Scientific Progress David Dessler 381 12. Measuring Intra-programmatic Progress Roslyn Simowitz 405 13. Kuhn vs. Lakatos? The Case for Multiple Frames in Appraising IR Theory John A. Vasquez 419 14. A Lakatosian Reading of Lakatos: What Can We Salvage from the Hard Core? Andrew Bennett 455 About the Contributors 495 Index All academic disciplines periodically appraise their effectiveness, evaluating the progress of previous scholarship and judging which approaches are useful and which are not. Although no field could survive if it did nothing but appraise its progress, occasional appraisals are important and if done well can help advance the field. This book investigates how international relations theorists can better equip themselves to determine the state of scholarly work in their field. It takes as its starting point Imre Lakatos's influential theory of scientific change, and in particular his methodology of scientific research programs (MSRP). It uses MSRP to organize its analysis of major research programs over the last several decades and uses MSRP's criteria for theoretical progress to evaluate these programs. The contributors appraise the progress of institutional theory, varieties of realist and liberal theory, operational code analysis, and other research programs in international relations. Their analyses reveal the strengths and limits of Lakatosian criteria and the need for metatheoretical metrics for evaluating scientific progress. This book investigates how international relations (IR) theorists can equip themselves to determine whether the subfield's work is getting any better; that is, whether it is progressive in the sense of providing cumulative knowledge about hitherto unexplained phenomena.

An investigation of how international relations theorists can best evaluate the effectiveness of their discipline.

Colin Elman And Miriam Fendius Elman, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.