Being Useful: Policy Relevance and International Relations Theory. Edited by Miroslav Nincic and Joseph Lepgold. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000. 416p. $80.00 cloth, $29.95 paper

Mary Durfee

American Political Science Review, 2002, vol. 96, issue 2, 474-475

Abstract: Thucydides, one of the intellectual fathers of international relations (IR), wrote a postmortem of a great war. In the process he also served as a general and was banished from Athens when he arrived too late to save a battle. Fortunately for us, the banishment improved his data and his analysis. Such are the delicate complications of analysis, theory, and practice. Being in the world of action provides crucial questions; distancing oneself from that world provides insight into the questions. This volume edited by Miroslav Nincic and Joseph Lepgold explores the variety of problems and prospects associated with linking theory and practice in international affairs. They do not argue that theory should be rejected for praxis. Rather they and their contributors argue that the isolation of the two unnecessarily oversimplifies the political world. The world of academic IR theory can benefit from closer contact with the world of policy and the world of policy will do better if it uses more theory.

Date: 2002
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