<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In the studies of international relations containment and engagement are often understood as strategies of foreign policy. This article seeks to explore containment and engagement through a less frequently applied theoretical perspective: to find out what features of containment and engagement allow them to be called middle-range theories.The article presents the main features of meta- and middle-range theories, draws attention to realism as meta-theory and then distinguishes the most characteristic features of containment and engagement in order to find their matches in the attributes of middle-range theories.The article concludes that containment and engagement can be called middle-range theories, since they are power balancing theories that analyze the phenomenon from a specific point of view (individual approaches to the instruments, regions, targets), they are comprehensive, and they stay within the field of power balancing analysis.</abstract>

In the studies of international relations containment and engagement are often understood as strategies of foreign policy. This article seeks to explore containment and engagement through a less frequently applied theoretical perspective: to find out what features of containment and engagement allow them to be called middle-range theories.The article presents the main features of meta- and middle-range theories, draws attention to realism as meta-theory and then distinguishes the most characteristic features of containment and engagement in order to find their matches in the attributes of middle-range theories.The article concludes that containment and engagement can be called middle-range theories, since they are power balancing theories that analyze the phenomenon from a specific point of view (individual approaches to the instruments, regions, targets), they are comprehensive, and they stay within the field of power balancing analysis.

Containment and Engagement as Middle-Range Theories

Faculty of Political Sciences and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

{"article-title":"Containment and Engagement as Middle-Range Theories"}

In the studies of international relations containment and engagement are often understood as strategies of foreign policy. This article seeks to explore...

Containment and Engagement as Middle-Range Theories

Published Online: Feb 09, 2011

Page range: 165 - 196

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10076-010-0015-7

Keywords
Containment, engagement, middle-range theory, meta-theory

This content is open access.

Containment and Engagement as Middle-Range Theories

Published Online: Feb 09, 2011

Page range: 165 - 196

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10076-010-0015-7

KeywordsContainment, engagement, middle-range theory, meta-theory

This content is open access.

Keywords
Containment, engagement, middle-range theory, meta-theory