Critique of the Realist Approach from a Historical, Conceptual, and Disciplinary Perspective
The realist approach in International Relations is often declared to be the discipline itself. From its origins, through various circumstances and theoretical debates, to the first quarter of the 21st century, its place and prestige, although questioned, remain in the practice of international polit...
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | Ecuador |
| Recursos: | Universidad Andina Simón Bolivar |
| Repositorio: | Revista Comentario Internacional |
| Idioma: | español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:revistas.uasb.edu.ec:article/4700 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://revistas.uasb.edu.ec/index.php/comentario/article/view/4700 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | realismo crítica reflectivismo metateoría historia conceptual disciplina Relaciones Internacionales realism critique reflectivism metatheory conceptual history discipline International Relations |
| Resumo: | The realist approach in International Relations is often declared to be the discipline itself. From its origins, through various circumstances and theoretical debates, to the first quarter of the 21st century, its place and prestige, although questioned, remain in the practice of international politics and within the disciplinary epistemic community. However, from a historical perspective of the discipline's evolution, one that reviews and questions its foundations, this position can be challenged. Therefore, the objective of this article is to propose a critique using the methodology of conceptual history, reflectivist metatheory, and empirical analysis. The result is that realism in the discipline has been politically motivated and oriented, which calls into question its supposed scientific objectivity, in addition to presenting persistent inconsistencies in its ontological and epistemological foundations. This hinders the understanding of the problem of international change in other contexts, and is insufficient for analyzing, for example, current borders. It is concluded that while realism can contribute normative terms and reflections, it is only one limited approach within a broader and richer array of theories, which is why academics are invited to explore the multiple theoretical possibilities based on a historical, situated, and conceptual understanding of the discipline. |
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