Problems of Theory Building and Theory Confirmation in International Politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6411067 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Morton A Kaplan (University of Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1961 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 6-24 |
| Publication date | 1961-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-8871 • E-ISSN: 1086-3338 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2009553 |
| OpenAlex | W1990591925 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 6 |
There is a great demand for theories in international relations. The term “theory” has become so honorific that hypotheses, statements of fact, and intuitive guesses are often dressed up as theories. In part this longing for theory can be ascribed to a desire for the status of a “hard science” like physics, since the “hard sciences” are often viewed by laymen as the theoretical sciences par excellence. They have displayed their power in revealing the secrets of nature and, when applied to the affairs of men, have achieved notable practical successes like the construction of the atomic bomb.On the whole this demand for theory is probably good. We cannot reason without generalization and, where matters are complex, the web of reasoning logically takes the form of a theory. Most historical investigations and case studies employ theories inexplicitly—often in the belief that the generalizations follow from the straightforward presentation of “purely factual” material. There is usually no recognition that interpretations of factual material can always be presented in a form isomorphic with theories from the sciences of economics, psychology, sociology, and so forth
Epistemology · Excellence · Generalization · Honorific · Presentation (obstetrics · Sociology · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Philosophy
La teoría de las relaciones internacionales en la encrucijada
Ages of cited references and growth of scientific knowledge
Ku dialogicznemu pluralizmowi w nauce o stosunkach międzynarodowych – o roli, substancji i konsekwencjach podstaw metateoretycznych w praktyce badawczej
Do realismo à emancipação
Law and Peaceful Change in a Subsystem
International Theory
International Studies in the 1970s
Economics, Philosophy of History, and the “Single Dynamic” of Power Cycle Theory
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 1966 - 2026 (61) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |