Suchergebnisse

"Role Theory in Foreign Policy" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Role Theory and Foreign Policy" published on by Oxford University Press.

Role theory concerns one of the most important features of social life, characteristic behavior patterns or roles. It explains roles by presuming that persons are members of social positions and hold expectations for their own behaviors and those of other persons. Its vocabulary and concerns are popular among social scientists and practitioners, and role concepts have generated a lot of research. At least five perspectives may be discriminated in recent work within the field: functional, symbolic interactionist, structural, organizational, and cognitive role theory. Much of role research reflects practical concerns and derived concepts, and research on four such concepts is reviewed: consensus, conformity, role conflict, and role taking. Recent developments suggest both centrifugal and integrative forces within the role field. The former reflect differing perspectival commitments of scholars, confusions and disagreements over use of role concepts, and the fact that role theory is used to analyze various forms of social system. The latter reflect the shared, basic concerns of the field and efforts by role theorists to seek a broad version of the field that will accommodate a wide range of interests.

The issue of publish-or-perish is essentially a matter of the complementarity (or lack thereof) of teaching & research roles. Role complementarity is a traditional concern of social psychology, & theories of role complementarity are applicable to the teaching-research relationship. While available evidence shows little objective incompatibility of teaching & research roles, it is possible that misperceptions of incompatibility may act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those concerned about incompatibility of teaching & research should find ways of heading off this process. Some ways are suggested. 1 Table. HA.

The issue of publish-or-perish is essentially a matter of the complementarity (or lack thereof) of teaching and research roles. Role complementarity is a traditional concern of social psychology, and theories of role complementarity are applicable to the teaching-research relationship. While available evidence shows little objective incompatibility of teaching and research roles, it is possible that misperceptions of incompatibility may act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those concerned about incompatibility of teaching and research should find ways of heading off this process. Some ways are suggested.

This article demonstrates the benefits of using a role theory approach in the field of International Political Economy (IPE) by demonstrating the benefits of role theory relative to variants of the social constructivist paradigm, especially vis-à-vis identity based accounts of IPE. This article also documents why and how role theory has always had a home in IPE even before the constructivist revolution in the 1990s. The social interactionist dimension in the work of Herbert Mead and his notion of a general other are linked to the relational ideas of friendship and impartial spectator present in the works of the founding father of classical political economy, Adam Smith. These similar ideas about the self and their surrounding social environment is a useful starting point to locate role theory in IPE and demonstrate its analytical advantages within social constructivism. After showing the "forgotten" place role theory has always had in IPE, the article illustrates the potential of using a role theory approach within the field of IPE through an illustrative analysis of the Greek economic crisis.

This paper gives an overview of developments in the area of role theory which took place in West Germany between 1958 and 1980. We differentiate three periods. The first is characterized by a discussion of Dahrendorf's Homo Sociologicus, of which we highlight only the essentials. This discussion took place in the early '60s. For the second period, in the late '60s - early '70s, the role theory discussion went into a different phase as a result of the so-called `positivism debate' in German sociology. The various points of view explored in this discussion seem to have converged since the mid '70s; the contours of an integrated role theory are becoming apparent. The paper closes with an overview of both positive and negative sides of the developments outlined.

This article assesses the possibilities for the development of foreign-policy role theory using the concepts of traditions and dilemmas from the interpretive approach to foreign policy, as well as narratives as an interpretive method for analysis. While role theory is rich in conceptualization, it still suffers from overt structuralism, inattention to domestic processes of divergence/convergence affecting national roles, and from methodological underdevelopment. This article goes beyond studies of national role conceptions that present foreign-policy behavior as determined by the national role, thus making it possible to understand the interplay of competing voices in determining a national role, the processes of role change, and the resulting reorientation of foreign policy. This article illustrates the possibilities and limitations of merging role theory and the interpretive approach through the study of Chile's and Mexico's attempts to join the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), their accession to APEC, and their performance once accepted into APEC.