Bringing the outside in: The limits of theoretical fragmentation and pluralism in IR theory

Abstract

This article explores the current state of the discipline of International Relations(IR) and assesses the prospects for integration of new voices to the global conversation. The article argues that the current state of theoretical fragmentation that infects the discipline will be a severe barrier to the introduction of alternative visions of IR. Two factors explain the source of this problem. First is the dominant understanding of epistemology, which not only misunderstands the place of epistemology in the research process but also helps reproduce a social structure of fragmentation. Second, I briefly explore the dynamics of that disciplinary structure and argue that when combined with the approach to epistemology the two become mutually reinforcing, limiting the possibilities of a form of pluralism that can incorporate alternative voices unless they give up what it is that makes them different.