ABSTRACT
The chapter explores three critical reflexivity categories: as a critique to stimulate self-reflexivity; as a practical-ethical approach, and as a contextuality or positionality focusing on the role of the scholar. Reflexivity has carried with it a multitude of meanings in the social sciences and specifically in the field of international relations (IR). There is a particular irony regarding neopositivist research, one that when recognized by reflexive scholars needs to be called out. On the one hand, neopositivism assumes a distinction between subjects and objects to maintain its fidelity to science, and yet on the other some of the most enthusiastic contributors to policymaking itself are neopositivist scholars, who use their theories and hypotheses to advocate for particular positions and policies. The purpose of this chapter is to push forward a practice of critical reflexivity, documentary provocation, and one that attempts to hold scholars responsible for a variety of outcomes linked to their scholarship; outcomes planned, unplanned, seen, and unforeseen.
