Abstract:
This paper will seek to explore the possibilities of linking content analysis with discursive approaches, as applicable to research conducted in the field of International Relation (IR). The point of departure is the critique of content analysis stemming from discourse analytical approaches, and the tendency to couple content analysis with often only vague discussions of context. The paper will attempt to take a more pragmatic approach to this problem, based on the notion that although meaning is fluid, it can nonetheless be captured at a certain point in time. By engaging in a commensurable conversation between content and discourse analysis, the authors seek to tackle the hermeneutical circle following a Gadamerian approach. This conversation finally leads to a method in which the (idea) categories for studying the texts and
co-texts are developed inductively, while the analytical categories used to incorporate the context of text production and reception are established deductively. The result is what the authors choose to call "context-sensitive" content analysis. Relying on peer review as its source of validity, it will be argued that such an approach may lead to more constructive results for the type of texts (defined in a conventional sense) students and researchers in the field of IR engage with.
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