POLI 244 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: International Political Economy, Neo-Marxism, Straw Man
5 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
Emphasize that ir theorists are part of what they study & don"t look at it from outside. Ir is only a subjective accumulation of ideas, language and concept and there is no one truth. Post-structuralism adopts a critical attitude towards established approaches in that it highlights the ways in which paradigms represent the world. It is critical of realism and liberalism, since their views are biased. It claims that ir does not simply have patterns and is fundamentally different from the natural sciences and therefore rejects any empiricism. The world is constructed by strong states rather than natural and all knowledge reflects the interests of the observer. Language has an important role in that, a process intrinsic to human social activity rather than a mere means of communication. Post-colonialism is inspired by post-structuralism but emphasizes the bias of eurocentrism in ir theories.
