What are the implications of philosophical pragmatism for international relations theory and foreign policy practice? According to John Ryder, "a foreign policy built on pragmatist principles is neither naive nor dangerous. In fact, it is very much what both the U.S. and the world are currently in need of." Close observers of Barack Obama's foreign policy statements have also raised the possibility of a distinctly pragmatist approach to international relations. Absent from the three dominant theoretical perspectives in the field--realism, idealism and constructivism--is any mention of...