Legislative Productivity of Japanese Local Governments

Abstract

This paper discusses the change in the concept of theory in international relations (IR)studies that has been promoted by the prevalence of formal approaches in the field since the 1990s. The first two sections present the developments from the public choice theory perspective. The third section reviews the various arguments pertaining to this change by researchers specializing in qualitative approaches. While this paper agrees with the critics on some minor points, it argues that the critics'central claims are unacceptable. The fourth section discusses arguments pertaining to the change by IR academic organizations around the world. The concluding section relates the change in IR studies to broader social contexts.