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The Agent–Structure Debate and America's Vietnam Options: A Reply to Professor Gavan Duffy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2002

Yuen Foong Khong
Affiliation:
Nuffield College, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 1NF, UKyuenfoong.khong@nuf.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

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This article responds to Gavan Duffy's critique of Analogies at War in his recent essay on the agent-structure debate in the JJPS (2001, 2: 161–175). I argue that Duffy's use of Analogies at War to pursue his thesis about “giving structure its due” is flawed because he (1) fails to assess the book in terms of the outcomes it seeks to explain; (2) conflates “structure” with process, perceptual, and personality variables; (3) misinterprets my assumptions while neglecting the findings of recent works that corroborate the findings of Analogies at War; and (4) fails to demonstrate one of his key suggestions, i.e. the importance of showing how agents and structures are mutually constitutive. The article concludes by discussing some pointers raised by the exchange for furthering the agent-structure debate.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press