Los estudios internacionales en América Latina: realizaciones y desafíos

SOCIAL SCIENCE IN CHILE * The Institute of lnternational Studies of the University of Chile Heraldo Muñoz The Institute of International Studíes (lIS) of the University of Chile was founded in 1966 by professor Claudio Véliz, with the cooperation of the Royal Institute of International Affairs of London. The lIS has been affected by the changes that have occurred in both the domestic and international contexts, but, despite sorne temporary crises, the Institute has been able to maintain the generalIy high leve] of scholarship and objectivity that typicalIy characterized it. Today, the lIS is a research and teaching center in the field of international relations, covering the political, juridícal, economic, social and historical dímensions. The Institute is an autonomous aéademic unit that depends administrati– vely upon the Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs of the University of Chile. For a short period (1974-75) it was transformed into a Department of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University; but in 1976, the Institute regained its original name and status. The lIS has a relatively small academic staff of ten fulltime and four half-time professor-researchers, and tbree research assistants; in addítion, there are ten part-time researches. On the administrative side there are thirteen functionaries, including two pro– fessionals in charge of the Institute's library. One of the principal features of the Institute is its interdisciplinary orientation. International relations is seen as an autonomous social science fleld which, due to its breadth and complexity, cannot be studied adequately within merely one discipline. Therefore, the regular staff of the lIS ineludes polítical scientists, sociologists, economists, historians and lawyers. In terms of academic background, there is a predominance of polítical scientists and lawyers. In the literature on international relations one can dístinguish roughly two principal currents of theory that generally coincide with two dífferent sets of concerns: those of the center and those of the peripherv. Theoretical * Publicado en Latín American Research Revíew Vol. XV, NO 3, 1980. Reproduc– ción autorizada por los editores. 192