Reflectivism

Abstract: Waltz's 1979 book, Theory of International Politics, is the most influential in the history of the discipline. It worked its effects to a large extent through raising the bar for what counted as theoretical work, in effect reshaping not only realism but rivals like liberalism and reflectivism. Yet, ironically, there has been little attention paid to Waltz's very explicit and original arguments about the nature of theory. This article explores and explicates Waltz's theory of theory. Central attention is paid to his definition of theory as `a picture, mentally formed' and to the radical anti-empiricism and anti-positivism of his position. Followers and critics alike have treated Waltzian neorealism as if it was at bottom a formal proposition about cause—effect relations. The extreme case of Waltz being so victorious in the discipline, and yet being so consistently misinterpreted on the question of theory, shows the power of a dominant philosophy of science in US IR, and thus the challenge facing any ambiti...

Abstract: This new study challenges how we think about international relations, presenting an analysis of current trends and insights into new directions. It shows how the discipline of international relations was created with a purpose of helping policy-makers to build a more peaceful and just world. However, many of the current trends, post-positivism, constructivism, reflectivism, and post-modernism share a conception of international theory that is inherently incapable of offering significant guidance to policy-makers. The Power of International Theory critically examines these approaches and offers a novel conventional-causal alternative that allows the reforging of a link between IR theory and policy-making. While recognizing the criticisms of earlier forms of positivism and behaviouralism, the book defends holistic testing of empirical principles, methodological pluralism, criteria for choosing the best theory, a notion of 'causality,' and a limited form of prediction, all of which are needed to guide policy-makers. This is an essential book for all students and scholars of international relations.

Abstract: Recent years have seen the rise of different idealist accounts of IR theory, such as post-structuralism, reflectivism, interpretivism and constructivist idealism, the latter having been the most powerful among them. Yet despite their apparent diversity, all these positions are based on a philosophical anti-realism and share parallel ontological commitments (Wight, 2006a, 2007; Joseph, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007; Potamaki and Wight, 2000). A Marxist social theory enriched by the principles of critical realism (CR) can provide a radical alternative to both the positivist and constructivist accounts of IR, which ultimately consolidate and reproduce the worldwide system of capitalism, along with its structured inequalities. In fact, in order for IR theory to fully exploit the implications of CR, it must be developed in connection with a historical materialist understanding of IR. And while claims have been made that CR can be forced to work with other theories of IR, it is most compatible with the principles of Marxism, which is the ‘critical science of capitalism’ (Laffey and Dean, 2002: 92). In the words of Jonathan Joseph, ‘Although scientific realism can be put to work on a range of different theories ... its relationship to Marxist theory is the most convincing’ (Joseph, 2007: 345). Chris Brown also refers to Marxism when he argues that CR ‘might perform an important role in reinvigorating a tradition of thought which has been unjustly neglected for the last twenty years or more’ (Brown, 2007: 409, 415).

Abstract: The gist of the entire constructivist learning theory is that learners are self-builders of their learning that occurs through a mental process in a social context or communication setting, and teachers as facilitators generate learning by creating the expected environment and/or utilizing the process. This article theoretically proves reflectivism as the logical counterpart of constructivism through establishing their complete interdependence and then suggests certain strategies of reflection to be used in language teaching for ensuring the best possible constructivist learning of language learners. In doing so, the basic tenets of constructivism and reflective thoughts are elaborated, examining their mutual connection thoroughly in terms of constructivist recommendations. The research also focuses on three case studies to depict how the theory of constructivist learning principles comes into practice through judicious reviews or reflective process.