Why Have Structuralist Approaches Often Been Criticised In Political Inquiry?
Are these criticisms justified? ‘Structuralism is the explanation of political effects, outcomes and events exclusively in terms of structural and contextual factors’. That is to say that, in the fundamental political debate between structure and agency, and the role they play in political processes, the structuralist approaches come down firmly on the side of structure. As an approach they seek expose imbedded structural systems by looking below the meaning of events. However, among social and political theory, structuralism is far from enjoying popular support or following. In fact, the brand ‘structuralist’ is considered little more than a term of abuse. Indeed, over the years, it has been exposed to a barrage of critiques, whether justified or not.
