詮釋途徑一向是政治學方法論中的一個重要的傳統，但是在國際關係領域卻少有運用此途徑的實質研究。本計畫的目標是要在國際關係領域重新帶回詮釋途徑，特別是其中的韋伯式的詮釋社會學途徑。在國際關係領域中，社會建構主義與英國學派事實上都展示了詮釋途徑的一些特徵，因此本計畫首先要辨認出這些共同點，並找出詮釋途徑可以與這兩個學派可以共享的研究議程─特別是側重在國際規範結構的構成，以及文明（或國際體系）間的歷史比較研究。接著考察此兩學派在這些議程上的研究成果，並以韋伯的詮釋社會學方法作為尺度，衡量它們的貢獻與不足之處。最後，再以韋伯式的詮釋途徑對現代國際體系的規範結構進行闡釋，並據此以發展出一套國際關係的文化理論。
Interpretive approach has long been an essential traditional in the methodology of political science. However, in the discipline of International Relations (IR) very few substantive studies have employed this approach. The purpose of this project seeks to bring this approach, especially its Weberian variant, back in the study of IR. In IR both social constructivism and the English School in fact exhibit some traits of interpretive approach. This project will identify or uncover the common grounds between these two schools and the interpretive approach, and the research agendas they could share, among which the constitution of international normative structures and the comparative study of civilizations or international systems are most promising. This project will then review the substantive studies of these two schools on these agendas, and evaluate their contributions and insufficiencies by the standards set by the Weberian interpretive sociology. Finally, this project will employ the Weberian interpretive approach to account for the normative structure of the modern international system; and by so doing, it will aim at developing a cultural theory of IR.
