Theory of International Politics
| Date: 14 April 2011, 08:37
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Summary: An excellent book!
Rating: 5
Only Waltz and other writers he refers to in his book as being the theoretical base to his approach, had made any scientifically meaningful progress , up to our days , in an attempt to start decoding one of the phenomena connected with the sociological activity of the human race - the realm of international politics.
I had an unpleasant feeling all along my studies for my bachelor's degree of international politics, and stopped my studies for the master degree after a few weeks, because I did not encounter any approach, in the scientific field of international politics, that met even partially, standards required by the philosophy of science. Those approaches can't explain satisfactorily events in world politics, and of course can't allow us to forecast the shape events are going to take, let alone, allowing us to influence the future, possibilities that are the ultimate tests of a useful theory.
Scientists of international politics are always enthusiastic to be interviewed about events in the International realm and even give their advice what to do, but never ever would be prepared to forecast events to come, claiming that an envision of the future is ability given only to prophets. But theories can be tested only if events to come can be deducted from past and the current situation, according to laws derived from the theories. Giving advice about the future is impossible if you cannot assume the way events will develop in the future, and that is exactly what all other scholars are not prepared to do.
Waltz's approach rests on a solid logical base, imbedded in the philosophy of science, and therefore can give rise to numerous testable theories, something lacking in writings of other scholars of international politics.
It seems that all those who reviewed the book in this internet site, no matter what their opinion of the book is, including scholars in the field of international politics, fail in their understanding of science and its meaning. They don't seem to know much (to put it mildly), about the standards of the philosophy of science, or of its importance. The moment anyone reflects on the book using the concept of schools of thoughts in international politics you can be sure that he did not understand fully what he read in the first chapter of the book, if he read it at all.
Really understand the first chapter (philosophically); otherwise there is no point in continuing to read.
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