當前國際關係理論研究現正面臨著「物質轉向」、「物質主義轉向」、「新物質主義轉向」及「複雜轉向」的風潮，重新掀起國際關係理論的「心-物」、「心-身」、「社會世界-自然世界」、「行為主體性-結構」的爭論，乃至「人類中心-非人類中心」的新爭論。國際關係學者藉由「新物質主義」的哲學觀點提供了實用的哲學基礎而使國際關係或國際系統的本體論爭議迴避或拒絕二元對立觀點，呈現出新的「中間道路」(via media)吸納雙方觀點發展出「不只人類」的觀點，以及物質性也不是僅僅無生..

The field of international relations is facing the fashions of “material turn”, “materialism turn,” “new materialism turn,” and “complexity turn,” which re- raises the new debates of ideal-material, mind-body, social world-natural world, agency-structure, and anthropocentrism-nonanthropocentrism in international relations. With the New Materialism offering a practical philosophical founda- tion, the ontological debates of international relations or international systems could av..

國際關係理論的第三次大辯論中，廣為人知的是(新)自由主義與 (新)現實主義的辯論，較少為人關注的是實證主義與後實證主義之間的後設理論爭論，以及因此引發的後設理論研究爭議。後實證主義質疑既有國際關係理論的本體與知識基礎，更使國際關係學者質疑到底後設理論研究是否有助於國際關係理論與實務的研究。後實證主義關注的是後設理論層次而非實質理論層次，後設理論是(國際關係)理論的理論(a theory of theory)或是有關(國際關係)理論的理論(a theory a..

In the third Great Debate in International Relations, the debate between (Neo)Realism and(Neo)Liberalism has been well known; whereas the metatheoretical debate between Positivism and Postpositivism have been ignored. Postpositivism questioned the ontological and epistemological foundations of the established International Relations theory. It has caused the scholars to wonder whether metatheoretical researches exert positive incluences on theories and practices of International Relations. Postpositivism is concerned with the..