Session 19 - Third Great Debate

The third great debate is also known as the inter paradigm debate which focuses on the ‘nature and progression of knowledge in the international relations field’. The author lists four responses to the ‘reawakening of meta theoretical impulses’ as presented by Anthony Giddens. The responses are listed as:  ‘despairing’, ‘dogmatic’, ‘celebratory’ and ‘systematic reconstruction’. I personally agree with the last two responses which argue that diversity of ideas and theories can exist without letting a new orthodoxy replace an old one.  I don’t understand why anyone would be despaired by the lack of ‘shared conviction about the nature and destination of social theory’. For me, the lack of finality in social theory opens up a world of possibilities and creativity. Also, as times change, ideas and theories evolve in order to facilitate and better explain emerging complexities in the field. For instance, IR theorists were taken aback when the Cold War ended because nobody expected the collapse of the USSR. The disintegration of the USSR shows that theories need to be constantly upgraded and changed to explain new, emerging phenomena. Furthermore, the USSR itself collapsed because change in leadership brought about a change and diversity in ideas which challenged existing ideological structures. It would appear rather depressing and boring if we already knew what the ‘truth’ really is and where our destination really lies.

While he does highlight the various shortcomings of the paradigm debate, Lapid states that with the emergence of the third debate, there is a loss of tolerance with intellectual hibernation. This debate allows for greater discussion, debate and circulation of ideas to take place. This may come across, for some, as a sigh of relief because we no longer have to accept ideas, like those of realists, which argue that the world will forever remain in a state of chaos and war and that everybody is inherently selfish. In my opinion, allowing room for criticism and the challenging of existing methodologies and ideas will certainly bear fruit in the future.