Richard Ashley and Robert Cox’s early interventions in critical theory gave significant starting points for evaluating liberal and realism institutionalism. The two marked the beginning of the increasing disenchantment of the dominance of rigid paradigmatic/statism rigid realism (Roach, 2013, p. 146). One of the most notable aspects was the failure of realism in examining the fundamental transformations that were happening in the international system. This included the emergence of the democratic institutions in the world; the spread of human rights into the international level; and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The two essential ideas that underpin critical theory are the seminal and the later phases.
The first idea underpinning the critical theory is the seminal phase. It was based on the concepts of realism and neorealism, which were dominant during the era of the Cold War. Neorealism held the view that the anarchical realm was composed of ‘self-help’ units or competitive states in the international system. The early proponents of this theory had a purpose of interpreting the reality in international relations as an open-ended totality of the unfolding and the changing identities and social relations in IR (Roach, 2013, p. 148). Some of these early critical interventions included the articles by Mark Hoffman, Robert Cox, as well as Richard Ashley.
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Another idea underpinning the critical theory is the later phase. This idea was based on universal morality as well as political economy (Roach, 2013, p. 149). The proponents of this concept negated such priorities as political, ethical, and moral aspects of reconstructing and transcending features that were despotic in the international order.
Both ideas contrast with Waltz’s understanding of the theory. The reductive framework, which was formulated by Waltz, aimed at describing reality. This involved analyzing the structural constraints based on the behaviors of the states (Roach, 2013, p. 148). However, the early proponents of this theory not only had the purpose of describing reality. They also wanted to interpret this reality in connection with the changing social norms in IR.
References
Roach, S. C. (2013). Critical Theory of International Politics: Complementarity, Justice, and Governance . London, England: Routledge.
