Pragmatism as Ontology, Not (Just) Epistemology: Exploring the Full Horizon of Pragmatism as an Approach to IR Theory

Abstract

This article is in many ways a pragmatist critique of pragmatism in IR, focusing on what practices scholars have mainly engaged in by drawing upon pragmatism and how to resolve problems that arise in considering them. Numerous scholars of international relations have drawn upon pragmatism to examine issues of interest to the field, largely (though not exclusively) of an epistemological or methodological nature, focusing mainly on pragmatism as a philosophy of science. Often overlooked, however, is that pragmatism is not just a philosophy of science but a distinctive and in some respects quite radical school of metaphysics, and it implies a particularly flexible form of social ontology. I thus argue for broader horizons in pragmatist theory in IR. I criticise the overly epistemological or methodological focus of the existing ways many IR scholars have used pragmatism, and discuss of how pragmatist social theory fits within existing scholarship in the field. Finally, I suggest how pragmatist social theory can contribute to ongoing IR research programmes by dissolving the dualisms of agent and structure, realism and idealism, and normative and strategic action. In other words, as a fairly coherent set of principles, pragmatism offers the foundations for a new movement in the study of international politics-indeed, such a movement has already begun, and I suggest that its horizons are particularly broad.

Viewpoint: applying pragmatism to stimulate service research and practice – a European perspective

“…Pragmatism is considered to be particularly well suited for social sciences (Morgan, 2014) and has been adopted in several fields, such as organization theory, international relations, business ethics, strategic crisis management and public administration (Farjoun et al , 2015; Frankel Pratt, 2016; Friedrichs and Kratochwil, 2009; Kelly and Cordeiro, 2020; Wicks and Freeman, 1998; Ansell and Boin, 2019). It has also been considered an approach to bridge the theory–praxis gap in management research (Fendt et al , 2008).…”

“…Another exception is Brodie and Peters’s(2020) study, which is built upon pragmatism in arguing for how mid-range theorizing could provide new directions for service research. The studies followed the predominant use of pragmatism in existing management research as a methodological perspective, guiding the process of how to conduct research (Frankel Pratt, 2016). However, reaching the full potential of pragmatism as a philosophy requires going beyond the emphasis on practicality and method; it must incorporate what is studied and why .…”

The Relationship Between Spirituality and Resilience and Well-being: a Study of 529 Care Leavers from 11 Nations

“…The Pragmatic Paradigm is focused on what works in identifying evidence and often provides the foundation for investigation of complex social issues (Feilzer, 2010 ; Maarouf, 2019 ; Tashakkori et al, 1998 ). Research is driven by solving real-world problems (Frankel Pratt, 2016 ), and researchers are encouraged to include relationships and interactions between multiple factors in order to better reflect the complexity of reality (Sil & Katzenstein, 2010 ). In this study, this orientation led to using a mixed methods approach, often associated with the pragmatic paradigm (Morgan, 2014 ).…”

Aikido and world politics: a practice theory for transcending the security dilemma

“…Whereas no practice is carried out just once, patterns of action can obviously shift. In this article, we see the potential for cross-fertilisation between aikido practice and a pragmatist understanding of human action (Frankel Pratt, 2016; Kratochwil, 2018). The latter takes as its point of departure that any given social order is constructed and reproduced through practices, but also that social change can occur through the introduction of new practices or new ways of thinking about established practices.…”