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Berenskoetter, Felix (2017) 'Approaches to Concept Analysis.' Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 45 (2). pp. 151-173.

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Abstract

This article takes as its point of departure Stefano Guzzini’s recent call for ‘ontological theorizing’ as a reflexive engagement with central concepts. In an attempt to advance this agenda, the article presents an accessible overview of different approaches to concept analysis to stake out the field for a discussion of what ontological theorising might entail. The article advances the notion of concepts as ‘basic’ and lays out the parameters through which they obtain meaning, followed by a discussion of three approaches, which tackle the multifaceted nature of basic concepts within and across different contexts. These approaches are labelled ‘historical’, ‘scientific’ and ‘political(critical)’ and presented through the work of Reinhart Koselleck, Giovanni Sartori and Michel Foucault, respectively. The article notes that concept analysis, as discussed here, stands in tension with modern forms of theory building yet is a creative source for theorising that accepts the unstable, political and context-bound nature of ontology.

Item Type: Journal Article
Additional Information: This is the accepted version of an article first published online 24 June 2016 by Sage.
Keywords: Concepts, theorising, history, comparison, genealogy
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Department of Politics & International Studies
Legacy Departments > Faculty of Law and Social Sciences > Department of Politics and International Studies
Legacy Departments > Faculty of Law and Social Sciences > Department of Politics and International Studies > Centre for Comparative Political Thought
ISSN: 14779021
Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2016. This is the accepted manuscript of an article published by SAGE in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, published online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829816651934
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829816651934
Date Deposited: 21 May 2016 10:49
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/22419

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