Flashcards on Marxist Theory in International Relations
Marxist Theory in International Relations: A Student Guide
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Critical Theory in International Relations
73 cards
Card 1
Question: What does critical theory offer in relation to positivist approaches in International Relations?
Answer: It provides tools to critically examine the limitations of positivist approaches and offers avenues for the development of critical International Rela
Card 2
Question: What role does Habermas play within critical International Relations theory?
Answer: He inspired critical international theorists to elaborate on causal and constitutive pathways for understanding the dynamics of international institut
Card 3
Question: What risk arises if critical theory is overly integrated into politics and practice?
Answer: It can weaken its capacity for critique, as practical application may lead to a narrowing of its critical perspective.
Card 4
Question: What problem does the author mention regarding scientific rationality within the environmental movement?
Answer: Scientific rationality can suppress the political consciousness necessary for unity and solidarity, a problem environmentalists often avoid addressing
Card 5
Question: How does globalization 'cut both ways' in the context of critical theory?
Answer: It can extend the emancipatory struggle beyond the nation-state, but simultaneously weaken the solidarity and political unity required for deliberatio
Card 6
Question: Why do the authors consider the contradiction of globalization a reason for further investigation?
Answer: Because it highlights the repressive effects of state power and raises questions about whether global institutions and technologies truly assist margi
Card 7
Question: According to the text, what effect does the rapid rise of social media influence have on political discourse?
Answer: Social media empowers individuals, but it can also hinder long-term, sustainable, and cohesive political discussion by rapidly shifting users between
Card 8
Question: Why will critical theory continue to be necessary in International Relations?
Answer: As long as dogmatism and orthodoxy persist, critical theory is essential for exposing repressive discourses and for re-evaluating our assumptions abou
Card 9
Question: What do the authors recommend revisiting from the first generation of the Frankfurt School?
Answer: They recommend re-emphasizing dialectical imagination — the fusion of the social meaning of ideas and creative capacity with a radical desire for soci
Card 10
Question: What role does imagination play in the emancipatory project of International Relations?
Answer: Imagination allows for the fusion of the social purpose of ideas and creativity with a radical desire for social change, sustaining the emancipatory p