現実主義と構成主義

―国際関係学史の視点から―

抄録

  Having emerged as a criticism of the realist International Relations theory (IR), constructivism has usually been considered to entail certain liberal tendencies. Recent studies, however, not only advocate its potential affinity with realism; they even advance the thesis that realism-and classical realism in particular-is inherently constructivist because of its anti-positivist epistemology. This understanding of the two theories potentially conflicts with the widely-accepted understanding of the disciplinary history of IR, according to which the development of IR is depicted as realism's progress toward a “scientific” theory. Reexamining the relationship between realism and constructivism along with their places in the disciplinary history of IR, it proves that IR has developed not in a linear way; it has rather circled around the same epistemological issue. From this insight, the present article draws suggestions for the future development of IR theorizing.