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PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Theories of international relations which claim objectivity inevitably harbour subjective biases. Elucidate.

  • UPSC 2026
  • 15 marks
  • Approaches to the Study of International Relations

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The statement restates Robert W. Cox's dictum that "theory is always for someone and for some purpose" (1981), echoing Max Horkheimer's 1937 contrast of traditional and critical theory. It targets the positivist self-image of mainstream IR and sits at the centre of the third debate, which Robert O. Keohane in 1988 framed as rationalism against…

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What the full answer covers

  • The claim to objectivity
  • How bias enters
  • A contemporary illustration
  • The limits of the claim
  • Conclusion
PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

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