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2017 | Buch

Introduction: A Political Question Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

The Concept of Truth in International Relations Theory

Critical Thought Beyond Post-Positivism

verfasst von: Matthew Fluck

Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book charts the role played by conceptions of truth in the development of a critical tradition of International Relations theory. Providing a detailed account of the conceptions which have shaped the work of Critical Theorists and Poststructuralists, the book reaffirms the importance of epistemic reflection for the discipline. It argues that the partially abstract character of the main strands of critical IR arises not from their concern with epistemic matters, but from their insistence that truth is purely intersubjective. Drawing on the philosophy of Theodor Adorno, the book argues that IR’s critical tradition can be rejuvenated by combining its original politicisation of truth with a critical account of its ‘objectivity’. The book will be a valuable resource for scholars and graduate students interested in the future of critical International Relations theory.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
1. Introduction: A Political Question
Abstract
The Introduction identifies a tradition of critical scholarship in International Relations (IR) according to which truth and knowledge are to be seen as social and political phenomena which play a key role in constituting international realities. There has already been extensive reflection on epistemic matters in IR, and many theorists now believe it is time to move on. However, wider societal concerns about truth, the interventions of Critical Realists, and the relative neglect of the work of early Critical Theorists suggest that there is much more to be said on this topic and about the ways it has been tackled in the discipline.
Matthew Fluck

Post-Positivism and Truth

Frontmatter
2. The Parameters of Post-Positivism
Abstract
This chapter charts the development of Post-Positivist International Relations (IR) theory from the work of early Critical Theorists through to the anti-foundationalism of Poststructuralists. The differences between Critical Theorists and Poststructuralists can be understood in terms of a division between ‘Veriphiles’ and ‘Veriphobes’. Despite this, both have been concerned with the same ‘critical epistemological problematic’. Moreover, in addressing the questions of which this problematic consists, both have adopted the same broad, intersubjective conception of truth. Thus, contrary to claims that the critique of Positivism in IR resulted in a pluralisation of perspectives, it produced a broad critical tradition which has developed within a clear set of parameters
Matthew Fluck
3. Truth, Violence, and Difference
Abstract
This chapter considers Poststructuralist Veriphobia through the lens of David Campbell’s National Deconstruction and the deconstructionist philosophy upon which it draws. Demonstrating the extent to which Poststructuralist IR addresses political questions associated with ‘difference’ by reflecting on the nature of truth, the chapter considers the limits of this Veriphobia. Despite important insights into the links between truth and violence, Campbell’s rejection of truth depends on an implicit claim to philosophical insight into the quasi-transcendental preconditions of knowledge and truth. This undermines his attempts to formulate an international theory sensitive to difference and reveals the wider problems with Poststructuralist accounts of truth in the discipline.
Matthew Fluck
4. Truth and Communication
Abstract
This chapter considers the relationship between Habermas’s theory of truth and Critical International Relations (IR) Theory. It does so through a detailed analysis of Andrew Linklater’s The Transformation of Political Community. Habermas’s communicative, procedural account of truth demonstrates that Veriphilia need not depend on the sorts of objectivist truth claims associated with Positivism. However, it reflects the same broad intersubjectivism identified in earlier chapters. This entails a suppression of the links between materiality and cognition which ultimately undermines Linklater’s attempts to identify the sources of progress in international politics.
Matthew Fluck

Truth and Objectivity

Frontmatter
5. Critical Realism and Truth-Based Critique
Abstract
This chapter considers the implications of Critical Realist theories of truth for International Relations (IR). Realists confirm that there is a problematic elevation of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, or ‘anthropocentrism’, underlying Post-Positivist accounts of truth. At the same time, they wrongly assert that recognition of the objective aspect of truth removes the need to consider the constitutive relationship between truth and politics. Thus, whilst the intersubjective conception of truth should be rejected, the questions of the critical epistemological problematic must still be addressed.
Matthew Fluck
6. Adorno, Truth, and International Relations
Abstract
This chapter draws on Adorno to outline an account of truth as objective, unintentional, and emphatic. For Adorno truth is to be understood in terms of the expression of objectivity rather than correspondence or consensus. This conception of truth presents a means of drawing together the insights of Post-Positivists and Critical Realists. Adorno shows that anti-objectivism, not the concern with truth per se, is a source of abstraction. Thus, critical International Relations (IR) theorists have been right to address a critical epistemological problematic. Their efforts to do so can be rejuvenated with by abandoning the intersubjective conception of truth in favour of an objective Adornian conception.
Matthew Fluck
7. Conclusion
Abstract
The book has shown that the discipline should be rather more sanguine about its epistemic debates, and less ready to abandon apparent abstractions in favour of supposedly more substantive issues. At the same time, world politics is infused with epistemic anxieties, tensions, and concerns which suggest that Adorno’s conception of truth might provide a productive basis for empirical work.
Matthew Fluck
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
The Concept of Truth in International Relations Theory
verfasst von
Matthew Fluck
Copyright-Jahr
2017
Electronic ISBN
978-1-137-55033-0
Print ISBN
978-1-137-55032-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55033-0

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