History, theory and the narrative turn in IR

Abstract

My lecture has three main themes:First, the nature and extent of the turn to history and narrative in the study of international relations.Second, the contribution of narrative history to IR theory, not as an adjunct or empirical resource, but as a theoretical perspective in its own right. Narrative historians of international relations may not adhere to an explicit theory of international relations but they do practice an implicit philosophy of history, a philosophy as sophisticated and theoretically fertile as any other IR theoretical approach.