Civil War Onset and the 'Third Debate': a Positivist versus Post-Positivist Approach
According to Yosef Lapid (1989: 236), International Relations, by the end of the 1980’s was “in the midst of a third discipline-defining debate”, between positivism and post-positivism. Scholars studying the phenomenon of civil war and its causes seem to have been largely exempt from this debate. There are two discernible reasons for this. First, the study of civil war has long been marginalized by the dominant theoretical paradigm of Realism within security studies, which does not concern itself with war, within the intrastate system. This is surprising, since from the start of the millennium, intrastate conflict has been far more prevalent than interstate conflict. Second, within the academic field of civil war onset, which this paper focuses on specifically, the theoretical approach is primarily positivist. Most literature on the subject of civil war, focuses around the so called ‘greed-grievance debate, and though the latter does usually focus on identity, it remains essentially positivist. This however, does not mean that the ‘Third Debate’ does not apply to the academic field of civil war onset as this paper will show.
This paper analyses two journal articles, one positivist: Greed and Grievance in Civil War (2004) by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, and one post-positivist: The Construction of Grievance: Natural Resources and Identity in a Separatist Conflict (2007) by Edward Aspinall. Using these articles, this paper will compare and evaluate their research approaches, their worth and effectiveness in addressing the subject and research question and their contribution to knowledge. Finally this paper will give some recommendations as to future areas of inquiry.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- INTRODUCTION.
- RESEARCH APPROACHES
- IR THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS AND PARALLELS
- ONTOLOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY.
- AGENCY AND STRUCTURE
- MISSING VARIABLES, EFFECTIVENESS, CONTRIBUTIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH..........
- ONE METHODOLOGY'S WEAKNESS IS ANOTHER METHODOLOGY'S STRENGTH.
- IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines the "third debate" in International Relations (IR) theory as it pertains to the study of civil war onset. The author analyzes two articles, one positivist and one post-positivist, to compare and evaluate their approaches to understanding the causes of civil war. The paper aims to identify strengths and weaknesses of each approach and explore their contributions to the field.
- Comparing and contrasting positivist and post-positivist research approaches in the study of civil war onset.
- Analyzing the influence of IR theoretical assumptions, particularly neo-realism, on the study of civil war.
- Examining the role of "greed" and "grievance" factors in civil war onset, as well as the influence of natural resources.
- Exploring the interplay of agency and structure in understanding the dynamics of civil war.
- Identifying areas for future research in the field of civil war onset.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This section introduces the "third debate" in IR theory and its relevance to the study of civil war. It highlights the marginalization of civil war studies within dominant IR paradigms and outlines the paper's focus on comparing positivist and post-positivist approaches to civil war onset.
- Research Approaches: This chapter compares and evaluates the research approaches of two journal articles: one by Collier and Hoeffler (C&H), employing a positivist approach, and another by Aspinall, adopting a post-positivist perspective. It examines the articles' theoretical assumptions, ontological and epistemological underpinnings, and methodologies, focusing on how they conceptualize agency and structure.
- IR Theoretical Assumptions and Parallels: This section delves into the IR theoretical assumptions and parallels underlying the C&H article. It discusses how their econometric model aligns with elements of neo-realism, particularly the principles of anarchy and rational choice. The chapter also examines the influence of economic theory on the C&H thesis and its implications for understanding civil war onset.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Key terms and concepts explored in this paper include: civil war onset, positivism, post-positivism, IR theory, neo-realism, greed-grievance debate, natural resources, agency, structure, econometric modeling, and research methodologies.
- Citation du texte
- Bachelor International Relations (Hons) Ralph Myers (Auteur), 2010, Civil War Onset and the 'Third Debate', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/159122
