This paper looks at the complex relations that exist between ideology, international relations theories and the world of practice. It will focus on the role of theoretical concepts in forming American foreign policy. In other words, it asks whether theoreticians and theories act as agents in the political arena, and if so, what are the consequences of this agency. This issue is vast, complex, and even problematic to some extent. It is problematic because, in part, it questions the ability of the social sciences to be objective. This paper attempts to show that theoretical concepts have a political role to play in the field of foreign affairs, and that to some a degree they are actors in the grand theater of international relations. As such, they should not be considered outside observers, which is a necessary precondition to objectivity. The theoretical concepts in international relations and foreign policy transform the subject matter of their inquiry as the process of inquiry occurs, and blur the dichotomist distinction between object and subject.
The Role of Theoretical Concepts in Forming American Foreign Policy: The Case of Rostow, the Modernization Theory, and the Alliance For Progress
JVF Conference Papers
