Theory is dead, long live theory: The end of the Great Debates and the rise of eclecticism in International Relations

Abstract

The history of the discipline of International Relations is commonly told in terms of ‘Great Debates.’ These intellectual clashes resolved little and, indeed, continue to this day. Underneath this narrative is an alternative history of significant progress through mid-level or eclectic theories of world politics. After reviewing the Great Debates, this counter-narrative is developed and then supported by reviews of open economy politics and democratic peace theory. A new line of cleavage is emerging in the field between positivists and post-positivists, however, that overlaps with the second and final Great Debates. Like all others before it, this potentially great debate — if it occurs — will be inconclusive. The field would be better off focusing on important real-world problems and achieving progress within each approach according to its own criteria for success.