When One World Is Not Enough: Patrick Jackson’s The Conduct of Inquiry as a Narrative of IR Meta-Theory

Abstract

This article evaluates Patrick Jackson’s recent book The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations. Jackson delivers a thoughtful and timely contribution to meta-theoretical debates in International Relations by highlighting the diverse landscape of incompatible philosophico-ontological positions. Specifically discussing the practical pay-offs of Jackson’s taxonomy, the article, though generally sympathetic to Jackson’s account, argues that he overlooks three interconnected areas: the myth-historical character of ‘International Relations’, the semantic heterogeneity or polysemy of his taxonomical categories, and the scope and nature of translation necessary to sustain his suggested methodological pluralism. These shortcomings question the stability and practical usefulness of his taxonomy and call for a more versatile, less static delineation of philosophico-ontological positions and an embrace of a plurality rather than a pluralism in International Relations meta-theory.