Pluralism in IR theory: an eclectic study of diplomatic apologies and regrets.

this paper sketches a pragmatic analysis of diplomatic apologies and regrets. To conduct such a study, some points of Sil and Katzenstein's "analytic eclecticism" should be clarified. Adapting Railton's concept of "ideal explanatory text", the recent works by Førland, Van Bouwel and Weber help clarifying how various causal mechanisms may be complementary to the understanding of one specific problem: different frameworks of analysis are needed to answer different why-questions encompassed in this problem. Their works parallel Kurki's advocacy of a post-Humean conception of causation. These analyses will be presented and briefly applied to the study of diplomatic apologies and regrets, showing how liberalism, constructivism, game theory (and other theories) are complementary to understand such complex phenomena. The main purpose of this paper is to show why it is interesting to integrate Sil and Katzenstein analyses with Kurki, Førland, Van Bouwel and Weber's to conduct a problem-driven and complexity-sensitive research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]