ABSTRACT
The “oncological agent-structure problem” derives directly from two of the most basic sociological premises. These are that society is comprised of agency and structure and that agency and structure are nonrecursively related. The ontological agent-structure problem, then, embodies two distinct yet closely related questions: What are agency and structure, and how are they interrelated? The ostensible simplicity of these questions should not belie their importance. These questions have been a primary source of debate within various disciplines and subfields within the social sciences. Suppositions concerning the meaning of agency and structure and their interrelationship, whether stated implicitly or explicitly, are necessarily embodied in any explanation of social action and social transformation. Accordingly, the answers which theorists afford these questions drive their theoretical formulations. Thus, a clear understanding of the ontological agent-structure problem contributes to both the construction and comparative analysis of theories of international politics. Some scholars of international relations have further argued that the answers afforded these questions by theories of international relations serve as the basis for adjudication among these theories (e.g., Cox 1986; Wendt 1987; Carlsnaes 1992). Crucially, these scholars have argued that theories of international relations must endogenize, or problematize, both agency and structure, and that those theories which do not are degenerative.
