Survival ‘Beyond Positivism?’: The Debate on Rationalism and Reflectivism in International Relations Theory

Cagla Luleci; I. Erkam Sula

doi:10.22151/politikon.30.3

Authors

Cagla Luleci Bilkent University
I. Erkam Sula Bilkent University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.30.3

Keywords:

epistemology, International Relations Theory, philosophy of science, rationalism, reflectivism, research program

Abstract

In the late 1980s, Robert Keohane argued that “the greatest weakness of the reflective school of international relations lies not in deficiencies in their critical arguments but in the lack of a clear reflective program that could be employed by students of world politics.” This argument has been one of the initiators of the debate between rationalism and reflectivism in International Relations (IR) theory. This paper aims to question the relevancy of such argument for the reflectivist scholarship. To this aim, it first provides an overview on the major focal points of the so-called rationalism-reflectivism debate. Second, it focuses on Keohane’s argument to understand his accounts on what counts as a ‘research program’ and what he means by ‘reflective scholarship.’ Third, the study revisits the foundational claims, as well as promises of reflective scholarship. Accordingly, the paper concludes that the call for a ‘clear research program’ contradicts with the very foundational claims of reflective scholarship, which has its roots in the criticism of positivist understanding of social science.

Author Biographies

Cagla Luleci, Bilkent University

Cagla Luleci, from Turkey, is a graduate who received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in “International Relations”. The title of her Master’s Thesis is “From Securitization to Desecuritization: Decoding Turkish Foreign Policy Towards Iran”. She is currently a PhD student of International Relations and a research assistant at Bilkent University. Her interests include methods and methodology in social sciences, security, borders, foreign policy.

I. Erkam Sula, Bilkent University

I. Erkam Sula, from Turkey, is a graduate who received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in “International Relations”. The title of his Master’s Thesis is “Where is the anchor now? A Poliheuristic Analysis Turkish Foreign Policy in the AKP Era”. He is currently a PhD candidate at Bilkent University, and a research assistant at Yildirim Beyazit University. His interests include foreign policy analysis, Turkish foreign policy, philosophy of social science, IR theory.