First Great Debate Relevance To Current World Issues
Discuss any one of the Great Debates International Relations in detail and indicate the debate relevance to current world issues.
1. Introduction {351}
The field of International Relations dating back into history has been characterised by a number of scholarly arguments on the basis of how to interpret and explain world events. Up to date there is no one school of thought that has gained dominance over others in the bid to explain issues occurring in International Relations.
The field of international relations is characterised by various paradigms all seeking to get the closest to the truth regarding international politics, this journey to best interpret the activities of international politics dates back into history.
Classical thinkers
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This debate happened during the years that followed the end of the first and second world wars, 1940s and 1960s respectively. Analysed in the essay are the backgrounds of the rival ideologies, how they were coined and how they came to be labelled as the first great debate. Discussed also is the relevance of the debate, if any to contemporary politics.
Moreover due to the fact that the field of international relations is characterised by a vast number of theories both classical and contemporary as such the first great debate has therefore been met with a certain degree of criticism and counter arguments aimed at rendering the debating irrelevant or non existent. The criticism of the debate is also discussed in the essay and ultimately a conclusion regarding the analysis provided on the First Great Debate.
“There is an inescapable link between the abstract world of theory and the real world of policy. We need theories to make sense of the blizzard of information that bombards us daily. Even policy makers who are contemptuous of ‘theory’ must rely on their own (often unstated) ideas about how the world works in order to decide what to do……Everyone uses theories-whether he or she knows it or not”.-Stephen M. Walt in (Kegley and Blanton, 2011:
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(Schmidt, 2013 :?) Is of the view that although the First Great Debate has received a considerable amount of criticism and counter scholarships it is still a relevant part of international relations. The reasons to this relevance are as follows;
The major relevance of the First Great Debate, is based on the fact that international relations scholars attribute the historical account of the field to the First Great Debate. This is to say that the First Great Debate provides a historical background for the field of international relations. It provides a reference point for contemporary scholars who wish to analyse current events based on activities that took place in the history.
Moreover (######) states that although the First Great Debate has been labelled as a historical myth, it provides even today a basis for the analysis of global issues some similar to what the utopians and realists were facing during the 1930s and 1940s.
As a result of the First Debate, the flaws and limitation of the 2 rival theories were brought to surface, this revelation has great relevance even in contemporary politics due to the fact that, the realists and idealist scholars of today use the limitations of the great debate to transform and better their arguments in their
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