Praxis
On Acting and Knowing

Praxis investigates both the existing practices of international politics and relations during and after the Cold War, and the issue of whether problems of praxis (individual and collective choices) can be subjected to a 'theoretical treatment'. The book comes in two parts: the first deals with the constitution of international relations and the role of theoretical norms in guiding decisions, in areas such as sanctions, the punishment of international crimes, governance and 'constitutional' concern, the second is devoted to 'theory building'. While a 'theorization' of praxis has often been attempted, Kratochwil argues that such endeavours do not attend to certain important elements characteristic of practical choices. Praxis presents a shift from the accepted international relations standard of theorizing, by arguing for the analysis of policy decisions made in non-ideal conditions within a broader framework of practical choices, emphasizing both historicity and contingency.

Foreword; 1. Constructivism and the practices of (international) politics: the case for a humean approach; 2. Constituting; 3. Changing; 4. Showing; 5. Guiding; 6. Sanctioning; 7. Punishing; 8. Remembering and forgetting; 9. Knowing and doubting; 10. Acting; 11. Judging and communicating.

Friedrich Kratochwil has taught at the universities of Maryland, Columbia, Denver and Pennsylvania, prior to becoming chair of international relations at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich and later at the European University Institute, Florence (2003–11). He was editor of the European Journal of International Relations and has served as a member of the editorial boards for several leading European, American and Asian journals. He is the author of Rules, Norms and Decisions (Cambridge, 1989), The Puzzles of Politics (2011), and The Status of Law in World Society (Cambridge, 2014).