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in International relations emphasis was laid on outlawing war, disarmament, international law and international organisations as basic problem-solving methods in world politics.
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Aberystwyth- Wales University
Then spread to British and American universities. -
Liberalism “a jungle, where dangerous beasts roam and the strong and cunning rule, whereas under the League of Nations the beasts are put into cages, reinforced by the restraints of international organisations, i.e. into a kind of zoo”
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Criticism of the liberal thoughts
Emergence of the Realism- Edward Hallett Carr -
maintained that the liberal thought is nothing else than utopia. „Utopians” were guilty of „naivety” which means goal stood in the way of the analysis. Carr emphasised the importance and necessity of a new theory.
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Realism and liberalism - The dichotomy between them became known as the double establishment of the discipline. The first debate was an ontological debate, concerning the subject matter of the discipline. Liberals sought to answer the question what ought to be done to avoid war, while the counterpart of the liberals, Realists wanted to understand the nature of power politics “as it is”.
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Epistemological debate in the 1950s and 1960s between ‘behaviourism’ and ‘traditionalism’. At stake was the question, „what is the most appropriate way of pursuing and acquiring knowledge in international relations?”
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n the third “Great Debate” the mainstream approaches of neorealism and neoliberalism are engaged in dialogue and at the same time defend themselves against a variety of „critical” theories. The first and the most important was the appearance of neo-Marxism. The debate was an ontological debate concerning the subject matter of the discipline.
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The chief proponents of the neo-liberal approach were Robert O. Keohane, John Burton, Ernst Haas.
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Neo- marxism theory emerged
Robert Cox
In this approach, the question of what is most important in world politics is not answered by providing a list of the most powerful actors and relationships but by inquiring into the causes of inequalities. -
Kenneth Waltz in his book Theory of International Politics
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The most important representative of the constructivist approach. He published his book under the title “Social Theory of International Politics” in 1999 and initiated the fourth debate.
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Addressing methodological as well substantial issues. In the 1990s a fourth debate was on its way, which challenged the established traditions in IR by alternative approaches.
Post-positivist approach.
Epistemological debate.
The participants were the constructivism and its counterparts, the rational or positivist approaches (liberalism, realism and Marxism).
