ABSTRACT
Many social scientists nevertheless ignore the inherent historical dimension of their research, and unfortunately cut themselves off from the sophisticated tools and approaches developed by historians. This chapter presents relatively briefly the relationship between history and some the methodology behind an international political sociology. An international political sociology should be in a prime position to counter the challenges of selectivity, reading for confirmation and belief in an unproblematic ‘truth’. International Relations (IR) scholars would greatly benefit from acquiring at least the rudimentary of this form of production of knowledge. Primary narrative sources come in many shapes and forms, and IR scholars are typically relatively accustomed to dealing with such examples as newspaper articles and parliamentary records. IR scholars tend to forget that historians come with theoretical and methodological perspectives, and write as part of ongoing conversations within their own field.
