The Hegemony or Decline of Discourse in John Vasquez's Power Politics on the Realism Paradigm Status in International Relations

Daneshnia, Farhad

The Hegemony or Decline of Discourse in John Vasquez's Power Politics on the Realism Paradigm Status in International Relations

Document Type : Research

Author

Farhad Daneshnia

Associate Professor of Political Science, Razi University of Kermanshah

Abstract

Neotraditionalism or neoclassicism in international relations refers to the thinking movement of those scholars who, through preserving the resistant core or the protective belt of classical theories make attempts to update these theories in the context of covering new developments. Realism is the most stable theoretical tradition of international relations encompassing various scholars in the context of classical tradition and its new form, namely, neorealism and neoclassical realism. One of the neoclassical realist thinkers of international relations is John Vasquez who raises serious assumptions in his studies about the status and position of realism as a paradigm in the theoretical domain of international relations. Vasquez believes that as a paradigm realism laid the groundwork for the formation of empirical rather than normative and historical science in international relations. He believes that the outcome of this situation has so far been a consensus on an image of global politics and researching it in theorizing field. According to Vasquez, despite the emergence of a pluralistic situation in the history of theoretical thought in international relations, realism in this field is still forerunner and its research program has a hegemonic status. While exploring the philosophical intellectual foundations and evolution of Vasquez's thought, this article reveals some of his transtheoretical and practical deficiencies of his detailed articulation of the theorizing process in international relations.

Keywords

John Vasquez

Classical Realism

Neoclassical Realism

Paradigm

Power Politics

Subjects

political science

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