International political theory meets international public policy

Christian Barry*

*Corresponding author for this work

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    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Abstract and Keywords How should International Political Theory (IPT) relate to public policy? Should theorists aspire for their work to be policy-relevant, and if so in what sense? When can we legitimately criticize a theory for failing to be relevant to practice? In this chapter, I argue that it counts heavily against a theory if it is not precise enough to guide policy and reform given certain empirical assumptions, but that theorists should be very cautious when engaging with questions of policy and institutional design. Some principles of IPT can be criticized for being insufficiently precise, but a degree of abstraction from concrete policy recommendations is a virtue, rather than a vice, of IPT. I discuss this issue with reference to John Rawlss principle of a duty of assistance. Keywords: theory and practice, policy advice, non-ideal theory, Rawlss Law of Peoples, duties to assist
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of International Political Theory
    PublisherOxford University Press
    Pages481-494
    Number of pages14
    ISBN (Print)9780198746928
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2018

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