What is a paradigm Thomas Kuhn The Structure

What is a paradigm? ? • Thomas Kuhn • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions • Paradigms through history • Hegemonic Paradigm • Paradigm Shifts • Anomalies • Counter-Hegemonic Paradigms

Adopting a paradigm • A set of assumptions governing how we interact and interpret the world • Paradigms are a lot like religion, people do not change them often, if ever • Changing values or beliefs is emotionally and psychologically painful • Automatically reject alternative paradigms • Avoiding anomie

Paradigms and the structure of the Universe • Geo-centrism: The hegemonic paradigm – Earth’s position is fixed – Earth as center of the universe • Galileo and the Counter-hegemonic paradigm: Helio-centrism – Earth and all objects in our solar system revolve around the sun – Pope has a talk with Galileo

Helio-centrism: Counter-hegemonic paradigm

Paradigmatic Approaches to International Relations • • • Realism (Power Paradigm) Idealism (Pluralism) Globalism (Marxist/Radical Paradigm) Indigenous (“Fourth World”) Reductionism Evil, Good, Money, Land

Why Governments/States? • • State of Nature Social Contract Thomas Hobbes “Leviathan” Nasty, Brutish, Short Strong Central Authority Absolute Power (Walking god on Earth) John Locke: Two Treaties on Government Public Goods/Limited Government

Future World Orders • • • Borrow from science fiction writers H. G. Wells/Moon travel George Orwell/1984/Statespeak Use of computer modeling/forecasts First developed by Prof. Richard Falk – From the book “Future World Orders” • Political Risk Analysis as Sub-field

Future World Orders of the Paradigms • Realism/Pessimistic – – Life Boat Ethics Thomas Malthus Game Theory Negative Sum • Idealism/Optimistic – Learning Curve/Positive Sum – Faith in Technology • Marxism/Globalism World wide social revolution • Indigenous – Destruction of States/Patchikuti