The Unrealism of Contemporary Realism
The Tension between Realist Theory and Realists' Practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6324263 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ido Oren (0000-0001-7470-6135, University of Florida, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 283-301 |
| Publication date | 2009-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Perspectives on Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1537592709090823 |
| OpenAlex | W2135153781 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 29 |
| References cited | 43 |
Realist International Relations thinkers often intervene in political debates and criticize their governments' policies even as they pride themselves on theorizing politics as it “really” is. They rarely reflect on the following contradictions between their theory and their practice: if there is a “real world” impervious to political thought, why bother to try to influence it? And, is realist theory not putatively disconfirmed by the fact that realist thinkers have so often opposed existing foreign policies (e.g., the wars in Vietnam and Iraq)? I argue that these contradictions are not inherent in realism per se so much as in the commitment of contemporary realists to naturalistic methodological and epistemological postulates. I show that Hans Morgenthau and especially E. H. Carr, far from being naïve “traditionalists,” have grappled with these questions in a sophisticated manner; they have adopted non-naturalistic methodological and epistemological stances that minimize the tension between realist theory and the realities of realists' public activism. I conclude with a call for contemporary realists to adjust their theory to their practice by trading the dualism underlying their approach—subject-object; science-politics; purpose-analysis—for E. H. Carr's dictum that “political thought is itself a form of political action
Carr · Critical realism (philosophy of perception · Dialectic · Dualism · Epistemology · Naturalism · Object (grammar · Political science · Politics · Realism · Social science · Sociology · Subject (documents · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Political Science Research and Education
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| Unique citing works | 29 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,71 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 28 |