The Quest for Knowledge in International Relations - Softcover

Lebow, Richard Ned

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009102915 ISBN 13: 9781009102919

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2022

Synopsis

What do we mean by theory in international relations? What kinds of knowledge do theories seek? How do they stipulate it is found? How should we evaluate any resulting knowledge claims? What do answers to these questions tell us about the theory project in IR, and in the social sciences more generally? Lebow explores these questions in a critical evaluation of the positivist and interpretivist epistemologies. He identifies tensions and problems specific to each epistemology, and some shared by both, and suggests possible responses. By exploring the relationship between the foundations of theories and the empirical assumptions they encode, Lebow's analysis enables readers to examine in greater depth the different approaches to theory and their related research strategies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations theory and philosophy of social science.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Ned Lebow is Professor of International Political Theory at King's College, London. He is author or co-author of more than 40 scholarly books addressing international relations, comparative politics, political theory, political psychology, history, classics, and philosophy of science. Among his recent books are The Rise and Fall of Political Orders (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and Reason and Cause: Social Science in a Social World (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009102915
• ISBN 13: 9781009102919
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254