The development of normative theory in International Relations: Some practical implications for norm-based and value-based scholarly inquiry

Abstract

This article attempts to assess the development and significance of normative theory in International Relations as an academic discipline. It is pointed out that a revival of normative concerns and issues in International Relations has transpired in recent decades, and that many scholars in International Relations today accept a proposition that scientific knowledge and inquiry in the discipline and its application should be underpinned or directed by a defensible normative commitment. It is furthermore pointed out that normative theory and some practical manifestations of norm-based and valuebased scholarly inquiry in the discipline are a matter of great significance, since these issues relate to some moral and ethical dimensions of activities in the international community. The article concludes by asserting that the growth of normative theory in International Relations is also of great importance and significance for scholarly research from a Christian perspective.