ABSTRACT
What exactly does a ‘discourse’ approach allow us to do? What can critical realism gain from a discourse approach? A key claim made by critical realists is that consideration of discourse by itself is innately relativistic (Norris 1993, Sayer 2000). I believe that this argument has been conclusively made, in this volume and elsewhere. Here, I want to extend the enquiry more reflexively to critical realism itself. For example, in the case of environmentalism, in what ways might the benefits of this more cultural approach be complementary to realist critique and understanding of environmentalisms? Could analysis of discursive practices around the environment be integrated with a more realist appreciation of the limits of the real global ecosystem on which we all depend? In what follows, my critique of others’ work should be seen in the context of my attempts to identify problems for this integrative project. I then argue for the importance of continuing and deepening the theoretical project which I believe could help to remedy the problems. I hope that my critique will be taken as a testament to the importance of their work and will encourage others to engage with it further.
