International Relations. A self-Study Guide to Theory

knowledge lies at the core of debate. 
Unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of the book to present the different 
philosophies of science found in contemporary IR theories in as detailed as a 
manner as that used for the example of positivism. Different epistemological 
as well as ontological and methodological claims found in contemporary IR 
theory will feature at a later stage in our book, when we come to dealing with 
the single theoretical approaches to IR in detail. While discussing these theo-
ries, you will therefore also be learning about other philosophies of science.
Step 3: 
Check your understanding: Key aspects and review questions 
Key aspects 
• Academic disciplines legitimize themselves as science through reference 
to a philosophy of science. There can be different philosophies of science 
dominant within a discipline at different points in time. 
•
The object of investigation in the philosophy of science is the nature and 
practice of science itself. Any philosophy of science is based on ontologi-
cal and epistemological assumptions, as well as methodological ones. 
•
In the academic discipline of International Relations, systematic reference 
to the philosophy of science at a larger scale started in the 1950s with the 
behavioral revolution in political science. 
•
Most of IR theory is based on a positivist understanding of social science. 
For a long time, the positivist philosophy of science dominated the aca-
demic discipline to such an extent that the terms “science” and “positiv-
ism” have been used synonymously.
•
Discussing theories in terms of their underlying philosophy of science is 
highly relevant because of the ontological effects as well as its conse-
quences for the practice of international politics. 

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64 
Review questions 
1. What is a philosophy of science?
2. Which criteria allow International Relations to be counted as a science? 
What does a “scientific study” of international relations mean? 
3. What are the implications of positivism for the study of International Re- 
lations? 
4. What is the relevance of discussing theories of International Relations in 
terms of their underlying philosophy of science? 
Step 4: 
Consolidation 
Required reading 
On positivism as a philosophy of science and positivism in IR 
(1) Smith, Steve 1996: Positivism and beyond, in: Smith, Steve/Booth, Ken/Zalewski, 
Marysia (eds.): International Theory: Positivism and Beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge 
University Press, 11-44. 
(2) Wight, Colin 2002: Philosophy of Social Science and International Relations, in: 
Carlsnaes, Walter/Risse, Thomas/Simmons, Beth A. (eds.): Handbook of International 
Relations. London: Sage, 23-51. 
 
For the debate about appropriate methods for the study of IR in the 1960s 
(3) Bull, Hedley 1969: International Theory: The Case for a Classical Approach, in: World 
Politics 18: 3, 361-377. 
(4) Kaplan, Morton A. 1969: The New Great Debate. Traditionalism vs. Science in Inter-
national Relations, in: Knorr, Klaus/Rosenau, James (eds.): Contending Approaches to 
International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 39-61 
Supplementary reading 
On the philosophy of science in general
Chalmers, Alan 1999: What is this thing called science? Milton Keynes: Open University 
Press. 
Chalmers, Alan 2006: Wege der Wissenschaft. Einführung in die Wissenschaftstheorie. 6. 
Aufl., Berlin: Springer. 
Gellner, Ernest 1968: Holism versus Individualism, in: Brodbeck, May (ed.): Readings in 
the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, New York: Macmillan, 254-268. 

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65 
Hollis, Martin 1994: The philosophy of Social Science. An Introduction. Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press. 
Okasha, Samir 2002: Philosophy of science: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford 
University Press.