Proposes a radical break with the ways in which meta-theorising in IR has so far been understood and contributes to a more advanced understanding of the practice of (meta-)theorising. Shifts the ground away from the overwhelming concern with meta-theoretical substance to a focus on the intersection of form and content in contemporary meta-theorising. Presents a dyadic approach: a rhetoric of inquiry that investigates the diverging forms of argumentation currently present in IR meta-theorising and a conversational ethic that can help steer meta-theoretical engagements across existing divides in more productive ways.