Colin Wight
Biographic Data
| ID | 3780911 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Colin Wight |
| GIVEN NAMES | Colin |
| FAMILY NAME | Wight |
| SIGNATURE | WIGHT C |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5913-5397 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 46 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 384 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 45 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Rationalism and the “rational actor assumption” in realist international relations theory
The commitment to the rational actor model of state behavior is said to be a core assumption of realist theory. This assumption is listed in most textbook accounts of realism. Yet is rationality a core supposition of realist theory, and if so, what kind of rationality is implied in these claims? Debate on the relationship between realism, and what is often labeled as rationality is replete with misunderstandings. Authors deploy terms such as rati…
Knowing best
Critical Dogmatism
Academic freedom is one of the most important principles of the modern university. Yet, defenders of academic freedom, and the associated concept of free speech, are now often projected as being either aligned with or enabling, right-wing views. This is a puzzling development. Academic freedom is typically understood to be a set of principles that protect academics from external – primarily state – interference. In this article, I examine this pu…
International Relations and Social Science
This chapter focuses on the major debates within International Relations (IR) theory with regard to the philosophy of social science. The philosophy of social science has played a key role in the formation, development, and practice of IR as an academic discipline. Issues concerning the philosophy of social science are frequently described as meta-theoretical debates. Meta-theory primarily deals with the underlying assumptions of all theory and a…
Forum
Scholars of international studies frequently examine the interaction of power and rules in their subject of study. Our profession also has significant power dynamics and rules that are mutually constitutive. In this forum, four scholars consider aspects of the current formal and informal rules of the profession of international studies that influence our field
Bringing the outside in
This article explores the current state of the discipline of International Relations(IR) and assesses the prospects for integration of new voices to the global conversation. The article argues that the current state of theoretical fragmentation that infects the discipline will be a severe barrier to the introduction of alternative visions of IR. Two factors explain the source of this problem. First is the dominant understanding of epistemology, w…
Violence in international relations
This article examines change and continuity in the function, role and moral judgement of violence in international relations. In terms of change, the conclusions are mostly pessimistic if the aim is the complete eradication of political violence. The control of violence, on the other hand, and the ability to hold those who employ it to increasing moral and legal standards is perhaps one of the most significant changes in international relations f…
Post-Truth, Postmodernism and Alternative Facts
Forum introduction
This piece is an abstract to a commentary section on Alexander Wendt's (2015) book, Quantum mind and social science : unifying physical and social ontology. In this book, Wendt, one of the core theorists of constructivism in international relations, undertakes a bold new initiative in grand theorizing. The commentators, followed by Wendt's own response to them, analyze this new direction from a number of angles
Querying the queer wars
Queer Wars is not a typical academic book. That is not meant as a critique; it is a compliment. All books are written with an audience in mind and should be read with that audience in mind. The aud
International Relations and Social Science
This chapter focuses on the major debates within International Relations theory with regard to the philosophy of social sciences. The philosophy of social science has played a key role in the formation, development, and practice of IR as an academic discipline. Issues concerning the philosophy of social science are frequently described as meta-theoretical debates. Meta-theory primarily deals with the underlying assumptions of all theory and attem…
Over Socialising the Social World(s)
Rethinking Terrorism
Human Beings in International Relations
Since the 1980s, the discipline of International Relations has seen a series of disputes over its foundations. However, there has been one core concept that, although addressed in various guises, had never been explicitly and systematically engaged with in these debates: the human. This volume is the first to address comprehensively the topic of the human in world politics. It comprises cutting-edge accounts by leading scholars of how the human i…
Mechanisms and Models
Morphogenesis and Cooperation in the International Political System
Philosophy of Social Science and International Relations
Morphogenesis, Continuity and Change in the International Political System
The end of International Relations theory
With a view to providing contextual background for the Special Issue, this opening article analyses several dimensions of ‘The end of International Relations theory?’ It opens with a consideration of the status of different types of theory. Thereafter, we look at the proliferation of theories that has taken place since the emergence of the third/fourth debate. The coexistence and competition between an ever-greater number of theories begs the que…
The Dualistic Grounding of Monism
The Conduct of Inquiry is a tour de force that carefully unpacks the idea of ‘inquiry’ in International Relations and reconstructs debates surrounding this issue in a way Jackson believes will foster genuine debate and, potentially at least, facilitate progress in the discipline. However, it is not without its problems. In this contribution to the forum, I present three challenges to Jackson’s position. Firstly, I challenge the validity of the mo…
Critical Realism
I would like to thank the editors for giving me the opportunity to respond to some of the criticisms raised in the forum on Critical Realism, or what is sometimes known as scientific realism (CR/SR). In this short response I shall attempt to correct some of the misunderstandings of Critical Realism in the forum, but also highlight a fundamental philosophical disagreement that has important political consequences
Theorising Terrorism, Part II
Scientific Realism and International Relations
In the mid-1980s international relations (IR) moved into what is known as its post-positivist phase. Underpinning many of the major theoretical debates that have occurred since then has been a concern to reconsider the manner in which research into international phenomena can best be conducted. At the heart of many of these debates was, and still is, a deep dissatisfaction with the positivist model of IR. Problems with the positivist model of soc…
Scientific Realism and International Relations
Critical and scientific realism have emerged as important perspectives on international relations in recent years. The attraction of these approaches lies in the claim that they can transcend the posi
Daniel Chernilo, A Social Theory of the Nation State
(2010). Daniel Chernilo, A Social Theory of the Nation State: The Political Forms of Modernity Beyond Methodological Nationalism. Journal of Critical Realism: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 112-118
After Postpositivism? The Promises of Critical Realism
This article argues that the current self-understanding of IR theory is misconceived and that it is time to move beyond the stagnant positivism/postpositivism debate. We argue that the attempt to occupy a middle ground compromise position between positivism and postpositivism is untenable because these two positions share much in common. In this sense a middle ground position between two problematic positions does not produce a less problematic p…
The end of International Relations theory
With a view to providing contextual background for the Special Issue, this opening article analyses several dimensions of ‘The end of International Relations theory?’ It opens with a consideration of the status of different types of theory. Thereafter, we look at the proliferation of theories that has taken place since the emergence of the third/fourth debate. The coexistence and competition between an ever-greater number of theories begs the que…
They Shoot Dead Horses Don't They
Although the agent-structure problem has been the subject of intense debate within International Relations the focus has been on epistemological problems or reconceptualizations of structure. This article attempts to redress the balance between agents and structures by outlining a theory of agency that shows the manner in which agency is embedded within, and dependent upon, structural contexts. The article takes as a starting point Roxanne Lynn D…
Incommensurability and Cross-Paradigm Communication in International Relations Theory
State agency
What are we to make of the state? According to Hegel, it was the ‘Divine Idea on Earth’. For Hobbes it was an ‘Artificiall Man’. Nietzsche declared it the ‘coldest of all cold monsters’. And for Alexander Wendt it is a ‘person’. Wendt is absolutely serious about this; it is not that the state ‘is like’ a person; it literally is a person; ‘states are people too’. Wendt's literalist take on the state marks a watershed within that broad category of …
The Agent-Structure Problem and Institutional Racism
My aim here is to demonstrate the relevance of meta-theoretical speculation to policy design and implementation through an examination of the agent—structure problem. I then apply this problem to the concept of institutional racism as developed in the Macpherson inquiry into the death and subsequent police (mis)investigation of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. When considered through the lens of the agent—structure problem, the account of institu…
A Manifesto for Scientific Realism in IR
Bringing the outside in
This article explores the current state of the discipline of International Relations(IR) and assesses the prospects for integration of new voices to the global conversation. The article argues that the current state of theoretical fragmentation that infects the discipline will be a severe barrier to the introduction of alternative visions of IR. Two factors explain the source of this problem. First is the dominant understanding of epistemology, w…
Inside the epistemological cave all bets are off
Realism, Philosophy and Social Science
The authors examine the relationship between social science and philosophy and ask what sort of work social science and an accompanying philosophy should do. They reintroduce the question of ontology
Theorizing the Mechanisms of Conceptual and Semiotic Space
In this piece the author takes issue with Mario Bunge’s claims that conceptual and semiotic systems have “compositions, environments and structures, but no mechanisms.” Structures, according to Bunge, can never be mechanisms in conceptual and semiotic systems. Contra this the author argues that in social systems, social structures (which are concept-dependent and reproduced and/or transformed, at least in part, semiotically), can be mechanisms in…
The Dualistic Grounding of Monism
The Conduct of Inquiry is a tour de force that carefully unpacks the idea of ‘inquiry’ in International Relations and reconstructs debates surrounding this issue in a way Jackson believes will foster genuine debate and, potentially at least, facilitate progress in the discipline. However, it is not without its problems. In this contribution to the forum, I present three challenges to Jackson’s position. Firstly, I challenge the validity of the mo…
Forum
Scholars of international studies frequently examine the interaction of power and rules in their subject of study. Our profession also has significant power dynamics and rules that are mutually constitutive. In this forum, four scholars consider aspects of the current formal and informal rules of the profession of international studies that influence our field
Post-Truth, Postmodernism and Alternative Facts
A response to Friedrich Kratochwil
Critical Dogmatism
Academic freedom is one of the most important principles of the modern university. Yet, defenders of academic freedom, and the associated concept of free speech, are now often projected as being either aligned with or enabling, right-wing views. This is a puzzling development. Academic freedom is typically understood to be a set of principles that protect academics from external – primarily state – interference. In this article, I examine this pu…
Rationalism and the “rational actor assumption” in realist international relations theory
The commitment to the rational actor model of state behavior is said to be a core assumption of realist theory. This assumption is listed in most textbook accounts of realism. Yet is rationality a core supposition of realist theory, and if so, what kind of rationality is implied in these claims? Debate on the relationship between realism, and what is often labeled as rationality is replete with misunderstandings. Authors deploy terms such as rati…
Theorising Terrorism
The Continuity of Change, or a Change in Continuity
Books reviewed in this article: Torbjørn L. Knutsen, The Rise and Fall of World Orders Martin Van Creveld, The Rise and Decline of the State Bill McSweeney, Security, Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations
Interpretation All the Way Down
MetaCampbell
David Campbell's recent review article of single-authored monographs on the Bosnian conflict serves as a vehicle for him to sketch the outlines of what he calls ‘a different objectivity’. The article is interesting insofar as it represents a serious attempt by a self-proclaimed postmodernist/poststructuralist writer, although perhaps not a card carrying one to use his own phrase, to grasp the epistemological nettle. For despite the many trenchant…
Over Socialising the Social World(s)
Back-To-Back Review
Incommensurability and Cross-Paradigm Communication in International Relations Theory
German (Re)Unification
This article analyses the writings of a prominent German social and political theorist ‐ Jürgen Habermas ‐ on the process of (reunification in Germany and examines responses to his interventions by right‐wing thinkers opposed to his views. (Re)unification is a setting of rapidly developing and changing events which present a challenge to Habermas’ thinking. Put simply, Habermas is highly critical of the ‘rush towards (re)unification’ and the proc…
MetaCampbell
David Campbell's recent review article of single-authored monographs on the Bosnian conflict serves as a vehicle for him to sketch the outlines of what he calls ‘a different objectivity’. The article is interesting insofar as it represents a serious attempt by a self-proclaimed postmodernist/poststructuralist writer, although perhaps not a card carrying one to use his own phrase, to grasp the epistemological nettle. For despite the many trenchant…
They Shoot Dead Horses Don't They
Although the agent-structure problem has been the subject of intense debate within International Relations the focus has been on epistemological problems or reconceptualizations of structure. This article attempts to redress the balance between agents and structures by outlining a theory of agency that shows the manner in which agency is embedded within, and dependent upon, structural contexts. The article takes as a starting point Roxanne Lynn D…
After Postpositivism? The Promises of Critical Realism
This article argues that the current self-understanding of IR theory is misconceived and that it is time to move beyond the stagnant positivism/postpositivism debate. We argue that the attempt to occupy a middle ground compromise position between positivism and postpositivism is untenable because these two positions share much in common. In this sense a middle ground position between two problematic positions does not produce a less problematic p…
Interpretation All the Way Down
Political Thought and German Reunification
The Continuity of Change, or a Change in Continuity
Books reviewed in this article: Torbjørn L. Knutsen, The Rise and Fall of World Orders Martin Van Creveld, The Rise and Decline of the State Bill McSweeney, Security, Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations
Philosophy of Social Science and International Relations
The Agent-Structure Problem and Institutional Racism
My aim here is to demonstrate the relevance of meta-theoretical speculation to policy design and implementation through an examination of the agent—structure problem. I then apply this problem to the concept of institutional racism as developed in the Macpherson inquiry into the death and subsequent police (mis)investigation of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. When considered through the lens of the agent—structure problem, the account of institu…
State agency
What are we to make of the state? According to Hegel, it was the ‘Divine Idea on Earth’. For Hobbes it was an ‘Artificiall Man’. Nietzsche declared it the ‘coldest of all cold monsters’. And for Alexander Wendt it is a ‘person’. Wendt is absolutely serious about this; it is not that the state ‘is like’ a person; it literally is a person; ‘states are people too’. Wendt's literalist take on the state marks a watershed within that broad category of …
Theorizing the Mechanisms of Conceptual and Semiotic Space
In this piece the author takes issue with Mario Bunge’s claims that conceptual and semiotic systems have “compositions, environments and structures, but no mechanisms.” Structures, according to Bunge, can never be mechanisms in conceptual and semiotic systems. Contra this the author argues that in social systems, social structures (which are concept-dependent and reproduced and/or transformed, at least in part, semiotically), can be mechanisms in…
Realism, Marxism and Method
The contemporary social sciences are in a state of theoretical fragmentation. A dizzying array of approaches jostle for attention, each making grander and often increasingly radical claims about the nature of human life and the best method of studying it. The roots of this fragmentation lie in the 1960s, when a deeply held sense of dissatisfaction with mainstream social theory led to the search for alternatives to the positivism that had come to …
Agents, Structures and International Relations
The agent-structure problem is a much discussed issue in the field of international relations. In his comprehensive 2006 analysis of this problem, Colin Wight deconstructs the accounts of structure and agency embedded within differing IR theories and, on the basis of this analysis, explores the implications of ontology - the metaphysical study of existence and reality. Wight argues that there are many gaps in IR theory that can only be understood…
Realism, Philosophy and Social Science
The authors examine the relationship between social science and philosophy and ask what sort of work social science and an accompanying philosophy should do. They reintroduce the question of ontology
Agents, Structures and International Relations
Inside the epistemological cave all bets are off
A Manifesto for Scientific Realism in IR
A response to Friedrich Kratochwil
Back-To-Back Review
Theorising Terrorism
Scientific Realism and International Relations
In the mid-1980s international relations (IR) moved into what is known as its post-positivist phase. Underpinning many of the major theoretical debates that have occurred since then has been a concern to reconsider the manner in which research into international phenomena can best be conducted. At the heart of many of these debates was, and still is, a deep dissatisfaction with the positivist model of IR. Problems with the positivist model of soc…
Scientific Realism and International Relations
Critical and scientific realism have emerged as important perspectives on international relations in recent years. The attraction of these approaches lies in the claim that they can transcend the posi
Daniel Chernilo, A Social Theory of the Nation State
(2010). Daniel Chernilo, A Social Theory of the Nation State: The Political Forms of Modernity Beyond Methodological Nationalism. Journal of Critical Realism: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 112-118
Theorising Terrorism, Part II
Sociology (39 works) · Political science (38 works) · Epistemology (34 works) · Law (33 works) · Philosophy (33 works) · Politics (23 works) · Philosophy (21 works) · International relations (19 works) · International Relations and Foreign Policy (18 works) · Social science (16 works)