国际关系研究中的理论与解释

Theories and Explanations in IR Studies

国际关系行为体实施对外政策,通常需要运用某种理论对现实做前瞻性解释。这种理论的含义,可以理解为旨在解释一定对象的一组相互关联的概念与命题。在国际关系研究中,基于不同的认识论和研究视角,研究者会建构出不同的理论。实证主义理论秉承科学传统,其宗旨是解释变量间的关系;后实证主义理论强调主观建构,其宗旨是解释国际互动的社会意义。由于国际关系事实作为人的行为的产物,既有可以观察的外在表现,亦有不可以观察的内在意义,因此这两种理论与解释都是需要与必要的。

In order to carry out their foreign policies, international actors always need to explain the situation in advance with some kind of theory, which can be understood as a group of interrelated concepts and propositions whose purpose is to explain certain objects. In the international relations studies, researchers construct various theories based on different epistemologies and research perspectives. Positivist theories uphold scientific traditions and attempt to explain the relationship between variables, whereas post-positivist theories stress the subjective factors and attempt to interpret the social significance of international interactions. Because the facts of international relations are all products of human actions and have both observable external profiles and unobservable intrinsic significance, both theories and explanations are needed and necessary.