Sørensen,G. A Revised Paradigm for International Relations: The "Old" Images and the Postmodernist Challenge. Cooperation and Conflict,XXVI,1991,85-116
Restricted accessOtherFirst published online June, 1991
Sørensen,G. A Revised Paradigm for International Relations: The "Old" Images and the Postmodernist Challenge. Cooperation and Conflict,XXVI,1991,85-116
Many of the meta-theoretical issues raised by current postmodernist contributions to IR theory were on the agenda much earlier in the European IR debate. Even if postmodernist thinking has brought a fresh burst of inspiration to IR, its meta-theoretical reflection is not well suited for the construction of better analytical tools in the discipline. This is demonstrated in the assessment of two recent contributions by Ferguson & Mansbach and Biersteker. It is argued that Neo-Marxist and NeoRealist thinking provides a better basis for the construction of a revised paradigm. Basing itself in particular on contributions by Ougaard and Buzan, the article attempts to construct such a revised paradigm for international relations. The paradigm contains three main elements: (a) a concept of state and social formation; (b) a concept of the global system, and (c) a comprehensive concept of security. It is argued that the scope of the paradigm covers Globalist, Realist and Pluralist areas of study, and even claims relevance for several of the issues raised in postmodernist contributions.
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