Classical Realism in International Relations Theory Myth, Critique and New Interpretations
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Abstract
This article critically interrogates the mainstream explanation of classical realism by arguing that a common sensical view of “classical realism” is a myth. The myth is (re)produced through two main sources, namely a structural or neo- realist theory and key textbooks in both English and Thai. Rather, this article highlights the intellectual complexity of classical realism as a theory of international relations.
The article is structured into four main parts. The first part examines the misreading of “classical realism” by a neorealist founding father like Kenneth N. Waltz. The second part explores this mythical reproduction in key mainstream textbooks both in English and Thai. The third part elucidates the new interpretations of classical realism since the 1990s onwards. The last part introduces a theoretical proposition of the so-called “six principles of classical realism”, which identify its common research programs and the difference between E.H. Carr and Hans J. Morgenthau. Classical realism emphasizes both power and ethics, states and non-state actors (individuals for Carr and world state for Morgenthau) and empirical and normative theorizing while foregrounding anti-positivist epistemology. However, Carr and Morgenthau have different visions: pragmatic realism and tragic realism, respectively.
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References
หนังสือ
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โคริน เฟื่องเกษม, แนวคิดและทฤษฎีความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ, (กรุงเทพฯ: โรงพิมพ์จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, 2548).
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จิตติภัทร พูนขำ, บก. แปล, ทฤษฎีความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ: สาขาวิชาและความแตกต่างหลากหลาย, (กรุงเทพฯ: คณะรัฐศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, 2560).
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ฉันทิมา อ่องสุรักษ์, แปล, ทฤษฎีความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ, (กรุงเทพฯ: คณะรัฐศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, 2523).
นรุตม์ เจริญศรี, ทฤษฎีความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ, (เชียงใหม่: มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่, 2556).
วีระ สมบูรณ์, ทฤษฎีการเมืองกับความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ, (กรุงเทพฯ: WAY of BOOK, 2561).
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บทความ
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ศุภมิตร ปิติพัฒน์, “ไม่มีความสมานฉันท์ในความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ,” วารสารสังคมศาสตร์, ปีที่ 36, ฉบับที่ 1 (2548), 130-164.
