Taking Preferences Even More Seriously: Recasting Moravcsik's 'Liberal Theory of International Politics'.

Andrew Moravcsik's formulation of liberal theory as a coherent paradigmatic alternative to realism has had a tremendous impact on the field of international relations. It has focused attention on the domestic origins of state behavior, raised the question of whether societal preferences should be granted analytic priority over systemic variables, and united several different strands of research under a common banner. However, it has also a produced highly acrimonious and largely unproductive debate over the theoretical progressiveness and coherence of the realist research program. This controversy, which has hurt Moravcsik's cause far more than it has helped, stems from several serious flaws in his original conception of liberalism. To advance the paradigm, it must be recast in a way that retains its essential character but does not overstep its natural boundaries. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]