The Iranian Association of International Studies International Relations Researches 2251-8444 7 23 2017 05 22 The Self-Imagination of the Reflective Perspective and the Design of Alternatives in the Study of International Relations The Self-Imagination of the Reflective Perspective and the Design of Alternatives in the Study of International Relations 79 108 53567 FA Seyed Ali Monavari Assistant Professor of International Relations, Kharazmi University 0000-0002-5725-2255 Journal Article 2016 12 01 With the formation of the fourth debate in international relations, the rationalist perspective continues to show a conception or image of a fixed self. This constant self-image depicts an unchanging state of international relations based on the principle of sovereignty and the everlasting strategy of security and survival. The image is rooted in the views of the rationalist perspective in international relations. This article seeks to consider alternative possibilities in the study of international relations by presenting the points of view of a reflective perspective in the form of a fourth debate and a discussion of transnational themes. Speaking of alternatives to the study of international relations does not mean the material evolution of the discipline, but rather the liberation of the discipline from the fixed image that the individualist perspective provides in its study. Critical theory, post-structuralism / postmodernism, feminism, and post-colonialism are presented in this regard. This paper concludes by analyzing these views that the very idea or image of the contemplative perspective - ontologically and epistemologically - with the discrepancy between the international relations scholar and the subject under study on the one hand and the extension of the subjects under study on the one hand and on the other. It offers alternative opportunities in the study of international relations. With the formation of the fourth debate in international relations, the rationalist perspective continues to show a conception or image of a fixed self. This constant self-image depicts an unchanging state of international relations based on the principle of sovereignty and the everlasting strategy of security and survival. The image is rooted in the views of the rationalist perspective in international relations. This article seeks to consider alternative possibilities in the study of international relations by presenting the points of view of a reflective perspective in the form of a fourth debate and a discussion of transnational themes. Speaking of alternatives to the study of international relations does not mean the material evolution of the discipline, but rather the liberation of the discipline from the fixed image that the individualist perspective provides in its study. Critical theory, post-structuralism / postmodernism, feminism, and post-colonialism are presented in this regard. This paper concludes by analyzing these views that the very idea or image of the contemplative perspective - ontologically and epistemologically - with the discrepancy between the international relations scholar and the subject under study on the one hand and the extension of the subjects under study on the one hand and on the other. It offers alternative opportunities in the study of international relations. https://www.iisajournals.ir/article_53567_94c5476f9b164809c51dbc6e8ccdeee1.pdf