INTERNATIONAL-RELATIONS AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

The author notes that much current research and teaching in International Relations is restricted to narrow theoretical and empirical areas. He argues that in order to understand the global dimensions of political life, we must replace our current particularist enquiries with a holistic approach to the discipline, founded on a dialectical epistemology and political philosophy. The piece concludes by suggesting that the global ecological crisis, which highlights the fundamental relationship between human history and nature, can only be understood through philosophical reflection.