Basic Theories And Concepts In International Relations Contents

Introduction

A number of reasons justify the construction of theories. Firstly, theories are relative and not absolute, in the sense that they are neither true nor false. They can only be explained in terms of their utility value. Secondly, theories are tentative and not permanent. They are tentative to the extent that they can easily be reformulated in the light of changing reality. Dougherty and Pfaltzgraff also describe a theory as an intelligible system of enquiry which enables us to organize and offer a guide for the achievement of a research objective. In their words, ―theory is a way of organizing our knowledge so that we can ask questions worth answering, guide our research toward valid answers, and integrate our knowledge with that of related fields.‖4 They explain further that a theory represents ―a symbolic construction, a series of interrelated hypotheses together with definitions, laws, theories and axioms…it sets forth a systematic view of phenomena by presenting a series of propositions or hypotheses which specify relations among variables in order to present explanations and make predictions about the phenomena. Similarly, a theory, they contend, comprises a group of laws which are deductively connected, and that some of the laws constitute the premises from which various other laws are deduced, and those laws that are deduced from the axioms constitute the theorems of the theory. They conclude, however, that whether or not a law is a theorem or an axiom depends strictly on its position in a theory. A number of reasons justify the construction of theories. Firstly, theories are relative and not absolute, in the sense that they are neither true nor false. They can only be explained in terms of their utility value. Secondly, theories are tentative and not permanent. They are tentative to the extent that they can easily be reformulated in the light of changing reality. Thirdly, theories assist in simplifying reality. In this case, the objective is to enhance one understands so as to be able to control reality. Thus, there is a dialectical linkage between theory, on the one hand, and practice, on the other hand. A good theory must start with a thorough knowledge of the events that one intends to predict, describe and explain. Generally, a theory helps the researcher to; understand a given phenomenon e.g. the concept of democracy helps one to know what democratic governance is all about. Significantly, a theory must also describe, explain and have the capability of prediction. It must as well possess the ability to acquire knowledge-knowledge that is impersonal, retraceable and testable. Indeed, for a theory to have a universal meaning, it must be testable; otherwise, it would lose its validity.