Event

In NUPI's Theory Seminar Series

In the past few years, pragmatism has entered IR theory primarily as either an ethical approach or as a recommendation for a closer engagement with the world of political practice. Both of these forms of IR pragmatism tend to erode the distinctiveness of social science as knowledge-producing practice, and neither pay much attention to the specifically methodological implications of a pragmatic turn. Patrick Thaddeus Jackson draw on the work of Max Weber to sketch out a pragmatist methodology for IR, one that preserves the distinction between science and politics and remains distinct from pure ethical reflection.

Paper: Social Science as a Vocation: Weber, Pragmatism, and Experiential Inquiry

Patrick Thaddeus Jackson is Associate Professor of International Relations at the School of International Service, American University, Washington DC.

Questions about the seminar to Nina Græger (ng@nupi.no)