They Shoot Dead Horses Don't They?

Abstract

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 Doty's poststructuralist attempt to address the agent-structure problem and provides a critique of her attempt to locate agency in the indeterminancy of structures. Doty's poststructuralist approach to this problem re-inscribes structuralist determinism predicated upon empiricist ontology. Specifically, it is argued that Doty's approach to this perennial problem rests upon — (i) a mischaracterization of the problem; (ii) an oppositional logic; and, (iii) a series of misunderstandings of the accounts of agency and structure embedded within contemporary approaches to this problem. The article suggests a multi-layered approach to the issue of agency in an attempt to go beyond the aporia identified by Doty.