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AN IMPOSSIBLE SYNTHESIS? THE CONFIRMATION HOLISM AND THEORETICAL DISCOURSE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
In the authors' opinion, the negative impact on the development of International Relations (IR) was exerted by the way of conducting the discourse, which we refer to as Popperism and which was expressed by the so-called "interparadigm" debates. At the root of Popperism there is the assumption that one observation that contradicts the predictions of a given theory may be the basis for its refutation. Moreover, it has become common practice to reject one theory on the basis of another. An alternative is proposed in the text - a Duhemian way of conducting discourse based on the principle of confirmation holism. One of the main principles of confirmation of holism, based on the principle of weak falsificationism (as opposed to Popper's strong falsificationism) is the assumption that due to the subjective nature of science, theories cannot be finally confirmed or rejected. Moreover, the assumptions of one theory cannot serve as a ground for disproving another. The authors of the article point out that the application of the confirmation holism can positively impact research practice in IR and contribute to the development of the discipline.

David Easton is one of the most prominent scholars who focuses on systems theory in political science. The objective of Easton's work, based on the experience of the natural sciences, was to devise a systematic model that could be applied to the whole field of political science. Although the author's contribution to the development of systematic studies in social and political science is unquestionable, Easton's model has not been adopted in the conduct of empirical research. The main objective of the article is to explore the reasons why political scientists do not use Easton's model.

Neutralność w Mołdawii traktowana jest przez władze państwa jako strategia, która mogłaby zagwarantować przetrwanie w środowisku międzynarodowym. Niemniej, mimo osadzenia w prawie państwowym (w ustawie zasadniczej), Mołdawia nie posiada gwarancji międzynarodowych dla swojego statusu neutralności, co wynika przede wszystkim z niekonsekwentnej polityki zagranicznej. Mołdawia stoi przed wyborem dwóch strategii: pierwszej, polegające na zacieśnieniu relacji z Zachodem; drugiej, na polepszeniu relacji z Rosją i mimo, że wybór każdej ze ścieżek wiązałby się z wysokim ryzykiem, wydają się one lepsze od polityki pozorowanej neutralności, jaką państwo to dotychczas prowadziło.

While the scope of the paper is to assess the actions undertaken by the European Union towards the FSU-CIS (the former Soviet Union, Commonwealth of Independent States) which was manifested through the Eastern Partnership Initiative in the years 2008–2014, the focus will be centred on theoretical concepts and their 'explanatory power' rather than actions undertaken by European or Russian decision makers. Taking that into the account, this essay will critically assess the explanatory power of the neorealist school of thought which although overtly criticized, still remains a viable tool in explaining the processes occurring in international relations.