International relations theory - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article refers to the theoretical discipline. For international studies see International relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

International relations theory is the study of international relations from a theoretical perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

can be analyzed. Ole Holsti

Ole Holsti

Ole Rudolf Holsti is an American political scientist and academic. He currently holds the position of George V. Allen Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Duke University...

describes international relations theories act as a pair of coloured sunglasses, allowing the wearer to see only the salient events relevant to the theory. An adherent of realism

Realism (international relations)

In the study of international relations, Realism or political realism prioritizes national interest and security over ideology, moral concerns and social reconstructions...

may completely disregard an event that a constructivist

Constructivism in international relations

In the discipline of international relations, constructivism is the claim that significant aspects of international relations are historically and socially contingent, rather than inevitable consequences of human nature or other essential characteristics of world politics.-Development:Nicholas Onuf...

might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. The three most popular theories are realism, liberalism and constructivism.

International relations theories can be divided into "positivist/rationalist" theories which focus on a principally state-level analysis, and "post-positivist

Post-positivism in international relations theory

In international relations theory, post-positivism refers to theories of international relations which epistemologically reject positivism, the idea that the empiricist observation of the natural sciences can be applied to the social sciences....

/reflectivist" ones which incorporate expanded meanings of security, ranging from class, to gender, to postcolonial security. Many often conflicting ways of thinking exist in IR theory, including constructivism

Constructivism in international relations

, institutionalism

Institutionalism in international relations

Institutionalism in international relations comprises a group of differing theories on international relations . Functionalist and neofunctionalist approaches, regime theory, and state cartel theory have in common their focus on the structures of the international system, but they substantially...

, Marxism

Marxist international relations theory

Marxist and Neo-Marxist international relations theories are paradigms which reject the realist/liberal view of state conflict or cooperation, instead focusing on the economic and material aspects. It purports to reveal how the economic trumps other concerns, which allows for the elevation of...

, neo-Gramscianism

Neo-Gramscianism

Neo-Gramscianism applies a critical theory approach to the study of International Relations and the Global Political Economy that explores the interface of ideas, institutions and material capabilities as they shape the specific contours of the state formation...

, and others. However, two positivist schools of thought are most prevalent: realism

Realism (international relations)

In the study of international relations, Realism or political realism prioritizes national interest and security over ideology, moral concerns and social reconstructions...

and liberalism

Liberal international relations theory

Unlike realism where the state is seen as a unitary actor, liberalism allows for plurality in state actors. Thus, preferences will vary from state to state, depending on factors such as culture, economic system or government type...

; though increasingly, constructivism

Constructivism in international relations

is becoming mainstream and postpositivist theories are increasingly popular, particularly outside the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Introduction

The study of International relations

International relations

as theory can be traced to E.H. Carr's "The Twenty Years' Crisis

The Twenty Years' Crisis

The Twenty Years' Crisis': 1919-1939 is a book on international relations written by Edward Hallett Carr . The book was written in the 1930s shortly before the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the first edition was published in September 1939, shortly after the war' s outbreak. Carr...

" which was published in 1939 and to Hans Morgenthau's

Hans Morgenthau

Hans Joachim Morgenthau was one of the leading twentieth-century figures in the study of international politics...

"Politics Among Nations

Politics Among Nations

Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace is a political sciences book by Hans Morgenthau published in 1948.The book introduces the concept of political realism, presenting a realist view of power politics. This concept played a major role in the foreign policy of the United States,...

" published in 1948. International relations as a discipline is believed to have emerged after the First World War with the establishment of a Chair of International Relations at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Early international relations scholarship in the Interwar years focused on the need for the balance of power

Balance of power in international relations

In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. The concept describes a state of affairs in the international system and explains the behavior of states in that system...

system to be replaced with a system of collective security. These thinkers were later described as "Idealists". The leading critique of this school of thinking was the "realist" analysis offered by Carr.

Realism

Realism or political realism has been the dominant theory of international relations

International relations

since the conception of the discipline. The theory claims to rely upon an ancient tradition of thought which includes writers such as Thucydides

Thucydides

Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...

, Machiavelli, and Rousseau. Early realism can be characterized as a reaction against interwar idealist thinking. The outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

was seen by realists as evidence of the deficiencies of idealist thinking. There are various strands of modern day realist thinking. However, the main tenets of the theory have been identified as statism, survival, and self-help.

Statism: Realists believe that nation states are the main actors in international politics. As such it is a state-centric theory of international relations. This contrasts with liberal international relations theories which accommodate roles for non-state actors and international institutions. This difference is sometimes expressed by describing a realist world view as one which sees nation states as billiard balls, liberals would consider relationships between states to be more of a cobweb.

Survival: Realists believe that the international system is governed by anarchy, meaning that there is no central authority. Therefore, international politics is a struggle for power between self-interested states.

Self-help: Realists believe that no other nation states can be relied upon to help guarantee the state's survival.

Realism makes several key assumptions. It assumes that nation-states are unitary, geographically-based actors in an anarchic

Anarchy in international relations

Anarchy in International Relations is a concept in International Relations theory holding that the world system is leaderless: there is no universal sovereign or worldwide government. There is thus no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can resolve disputes, enforce law, or order the...

international system with no authority above capable of regulating interactions between states as no true authoritative world government

World government

World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...

exists. Secondly, it assumes that sovereign

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

states

Sovereign state

A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

, rather than IGOs, NGOs or MNCs, are the primary actors in international affairs. Thus, states, as the highest order, are in competition with one another. As such, a state acts as a rational

Rationality

In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...

autonomous actor in pursuit of its own self-interest with a primary goal to maintain and ensure its own security—and thus its sovereignty and survival. Realism holds that in pursuit of their interests, states will attempt to amass resources

Natural resource

Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....

, and that relations between states are determined by their relative levels of power

Power politics

Power politics, or Machtpolitik , is a state of international relations in which sovereigns protect their own interests by threatening one another with military, economic, or political aggression...

. That level of power is in turn determined by the state's military and economic capabilities.

Some realists (human nature realists) believe that states are inherently aggressive, that territorial expansion is constrained only by opposing powers, while others (offensive/defensive realists) believe that states are obsessed with the security and continuation of the state's existence. The defensive view can lead to a security dilemma

Security dilemma

The security dilemma asserts that both strength and weakness in national security can be provocative to other nations. If a nation is too strong, this can be provocative since “most means of self-protection simultaneously menace others.” On the other hand, if a nation is too weak, “great dangers...

where increasing one's own security can bring along greater instability as the opponent(s) builds up its own arms, making security a zero-sum game where only relative gains can be made.

Neorealism

Neorealism or structural realism is a development of realism advanced by Kenneth Waltz

Kenneth Waltz

Kenneth Neal Waltz is a member of the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars of international relations alive today...

in Theory of International Politics
Theory of International Politics
Theory of International Politics is a 1979 international relations theory book, written by Kenneth Waltz that elaborated a new theory, the neorealist theory of international relations, and surpassed the cognitive limitations of the past...

. It is, however, only one strand of neorealism. Joseph Grieco

Joseph Grieco

Joseph M Grieco is an American academic who is currently a Professor of Political Science at Duke University. Within international realations theory he is considered to be a neorealist and an important figure in the debate between neorealists and neoliberals....

has combined neo-realist thinking with more traditional realists. This strand of theory is sometimes called "modern realism". Waltz's neorealism contends that the effect of structure must be taken into account in explaining state behavior. Structure is defined twofold as a) the ordering principle of the international system which is anarchy

Anarchy in international relations

and b) the distribution of capabilities across units. Waltz also challenges traditional realism's emphasis on traditional military power, instead characterizing power in terms of the combined capabilities of the state.

Liberalism

The precursor to liberal international relations theory

Liberal international relations theory

was "idealism

Idealism (international relations)

In the American study of international relations, idealism usually refers to the school of thought personified in American diplomatic history by Woodrow Wilson, such that it is sometimes referred to as Wilsonianism, or Wilsonian Idealism. Idealism holds that a state should make its internal...

". Idealism (or utopianism) was a term applied in a critical manner by those who saw themselves as 'realists', for instance E. H. Carr. Idealism in international relations usually refers to the school of thought personified in American diplomatic history by Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

, such that it is sometimes referred to as "Wilsonianism." Idealism holds that a state should make its internal political philosophy the goal of its foreign policy. For example, an idealist might believe that ending poverty at home should be coupled with tackling poverty abroad. Wilson's idealism was a precursor to liberal international relations theory, which would arise amongst the "institution-builders" after World War II.

Liberalism holds that state preferences, rather than state capabilities, are the primary determinant of state behavior. Unlike realism, where the state is seen as a unitary actor, liberalism allows for plurality in state actions. Thus, preferences will vary from state to state, depending on factors such as culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, economic system

Economic system

An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...

or government type

Form of government

A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...

. Liberalism also holds that interaction between states is not limited to the political/security ("high politics"), but also economic/cultural ("low politics") whether through commercial firms, organizations or individuals. Thus, instead of an anarchic international system, there are plenty of opportunities for cooperation and broader notions of power, such as cultural capital

Cultural capital

The term cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets; they may be educational or intellectual, which might promote social mobility beyond economic means....

(for example, the influence of film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s leading to the popularity of the country's culture and creating a market for its exports worldwide). Another assumption is that absolute gain

Absolute gain (International Relations)

As a part of liberal international relations theory, absolute gain is a term used to describe how states will act in the international community. The theory says that international actors will look at the total effect of a decision on the state or organization and act accordingly...

s can be made through co-operation and interdependence

Interdependence

Interdependence is a relation between its members such that each is mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a simple dependence relation, which implies that one member of the relationship can function or survive apart from the other....

—thus peace can be achieved.

The democratic peace theory argues that liberal democracies have never (or almost never) made war on one another and have fewer conflicts among themselves. This is seen as contradicting especially the realist theories and this empirical claim is now one of the great disputes in political science. Numerous explanations have been proposed for the democratic peace. It has also been argued, as in the book Never at War
Never at War
Never at War: Why Democracies Will Not Fight One Another is a book by the historian and physicist Spencer R. Weart published by Yale University Press in 1998...

, that democracies conduct diplomacy in general very differently from nondemocracies. (Neo)realists disagree with Liberals over the theory, often citing structural reasons for the peace, as opposed to the state's government. Sebastian Rosato, a critic of democratic peace theory points to America's behavior towards left-leaning democracies in Latin America during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

to challenge democratic peace. One argument is that economic interdependence makes war between trading partners less likely. In contrast realists claim that economic interdependence increases rather than decreases the likelihood of conflict.

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism, liberal institutionalism or neo-liberal institutionalism is an advancement of liberal thinking. It argues that international institutions can allow nations to successfully cooperate in the international system.

Post-Liberalism

Post-liberal theory argues that within the modern, globalized world, states in fact are driven to cooperate, in order to ensure security and sovereign interests. The departure from classical liberal theory is most notably felt in the re-interpretation of the concepts of Sovereignty

Sovereignty

and Autonomy

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

. Autonomy becomes a problematic concept, shifting away from a notion of freedom of self-determination and agency to a heavily responsibility and duty laden concept. Importantly, autonomy is linked to a capacity for good governance. Similarly, sovereignty also experiences a shift from a right to a duty. In the global economy, International organisations hold sovereign states to account, leading to a situation where sovereignty is co-produced among 'sovereign' states. The concept becomes a variable capacity of good governance and can no longer be accepted as an absolute right. One possible way to interpret this theory, is the idea that in order to maintain global stability and security and solve the problem of the anarchic world system in International Relations, no overarching, global, sovereign authority is created. Instead, states collectively abandon some rights for full autonomy and sovereignty.

Constructivism

Constructivism in international relations

or social constructivism

Social constructivism

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge that applies the general philosophical constructionism into social settings, wherein groups construct knowledge for one another, collaboratively creating a small culture of shared artifacts with shared meanings...

has been described as a challenge to the dominance of neo-liberal and neo-realist international relations theories. Michael Barnett describes constructivist international relations theories as being concerned with how ideas define international structure, how this structure defines the interests and identities of states and how states and non-state actors reproduce this structure. The key tenet of constructivism is the belief that "International politics is shaped by persuasive ideas, collective values, culture, and social identities." Constructivism argues that international reality is socially constructed by cognitive structures which give meaning to the material world. The theory emerged out of debates concerning the scientific method of international relations theories and theories role in the production of international power. Emanuel Adler

Emanuel Adler

Professor Emanuel Adler is an academic at the University of Toronto. He currently holds the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Chair in Israel Studies in the department of Political Science and is associated with constructivism in international relations theory....

states that constructivism occupies a middle ground between rationalist and interpretative theories of international relations.

The failure of either realism or liberalism to predict the end of the Cold War boosted the credibility of constructivist theory. Constructivist theory criticises the static assumptions of traditional international relations theory and emphasize that international relations is a social construction. Constructivism is a theory critical of the ontological basis of rationalist theories of international relations. Whereas realism deals mainly with security and material power, and liberalism looks primarily at economic interdependence and domestic-level factors, constructivism

Constructivism in international relations

most concerns itself with the role of ideas in shaping the international system (indeed it is possible there is some overlap between constructivism and realism or liberalism, but they remain separate schools of thought). By "ideas" constructivists refer to the goals, threats, fears, identities, and other elements of perceived reality that influence states and non-state actors within the international system. Constructivists believe that these ideational factors can often have far-reaching effects, and that they can trump materialistic power concerns. For example, constructivists note that an increase in the size of the US military is likely to be viewed with much greater concern in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, a traditional antagonist of the US, than in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, a close US ally. Therefore, there must be perceptions at work in shaping international outcomes. As such, constructivists do not see anarchy as the invariable foundation of the international system, but rather argue, in the words of Alexander Wendt

Alexander Wendt

Alexander Wendt is one of the core social constructivist scholars in the field of international relations. Wendt and scholars such as Nicholas Onuf, Peter J...

, that "anarchy is what states make of it". Constructivists also believe that social norms shape and change foreign policy over time rather than security which realists cite.

Marxism and Critical Theory

Marxist

Marxism

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

and Neo-Marxist

Neo-Marxism

Neo-Marxism is a loose term for various twentieth-century approaches that amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory, usually by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions, such as: critical theory, psychoanalysis or Existentialism .Erik Olin Wright's theory of contradictory class...

international relations theories are structuralist paradigms which reject the realist/liberal

Liberal international relations theory

view of state conflict or cooperation; instead focusing on the economic and material aspects. Marxist approaches argue the position of historical materialism

Historical materialism

Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...

and make the assumption that the economic concerns transcend others; allowing for the elevation of class as the focus of study. Marxists view the international system as an integrated capitalist

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

system in pursuit of capital accumulation

Capital accumulation

The accumulation of capital refers to the gathering or amassing of objects of value; the increase in wealth through concentration; or the creation of wealth. Capital is money or a financial asset invested for the purpose of making more money...

. A sub-discipline of Marxist IR is Critical Security Studies

Critical Security Studies

Critical Security Studies is an academic discipline within security studies which rejects mainstream approaches to security-Definition:Some use the term critical security studies to refer to all approaches that are critical of mainstream/orthodox realist approaches. Others see Critical Security...

. Gramscian approaches rely on the ideas of Italian Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...

whose writings concerned the hegemony that capitalism holds as an ideology. Marxist approaches have also inspired Critical Theorists

Critical theory

Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...

such as Robert W. Cox

Robert W. Cox

Robert Cox is a former political science professor and United Nations officer. He is cited as one of the intellectual leaders, along with Susan Strange, of the British School of International Political Economy and is still active as a scholar after his formal retirement, writing and giving...

who argues that "Theory is always for someone and for some purpose".

One notable Marxist approach to international relations theory is Immanuel Wallerstein's

Immanuel Wallerstein

Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...

World-system theory which can be traced back to the ideas expressed by Lenin in Imperialism: The Highest Stage of capitalism. World-system theory argues that globalized capitalism has created a core of modern industrialized countries which exploit a periphery of exploited "Third World" countries. These ideas were developed by the Latin American Dependency School. "Neo-Marxist" or "New Marxist" approaches have return to the writings of Karl Marx

Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

for their inspiration. Key "New Marxists" include Justin Rosenberg

Justin Rosenberg

Justin Rosenberg is a Professor in International Relations at the University of Sussex. Within academia, Rosenberg is associated with "New Marxist" international relations theory. His first book, The Empire of Civil Society formed a Marxist critique of Realist and Neo-Realist theories of...

and Benno Teschke

Benno Teschke

Benno Teschke is a Senior Lecturer of International Relations at the University of Sussex. Teschke's scholarship is a contribution to Marxist international relations theory, specifically in the Political Marxism tendency....

. Marxist approaches have enjoyed a renaissance since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

Criticisms of Marxists approaches to international relations theory include the narrow focus on material and economic aspects of life.

Feminism

Feminist approaches to international relations became popular in the early 1990s. Such approaches emphasises that women's experiences continue to be excluded from the study of international relations. International Relations Feminists who argue that gender relations are integral to international relations focus on the role of diplomatic wives and marital relationship that facilitate sex trafficking. Early feminist IR approaches were part of the "Third Great Debate

Great Debates in international relations theory

In international relations theory, the Great Debates refer to a series of disagreements between international relations scholars. Ashworth describes how the discipline of international relations has been heavily influenced by historical narratives and that "no single idea has been more...

" between positivists and post-positivists. They argued against what they saw as the positivism and state-centrism of mainstream international relations. Christian Reus-Smit

Christian Reus-Smit

Chris Reus-Smit is Professor of International Relations at the European University Institute in Florence. He is a leading constructivist scholar in the field of international relations, and is arguably Australia's pre-eminent scholar in the field...

argues that these approaches did not describe what a feminist perspective on world politics would look like.

The feminist international relations scholar Jacqui True differentiates between empirical feminism, analytical feminism and normative feminism. Empirical feminism sees women and gender relations as empirical aspects of international relations. It is argued that mainstream international relations emphasis on anarchy and statecraft

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

mean that areas of study that make the reproduction of the state system possible are marginalized. Analytical feminism claims that the theoretical framework of international relations has a gender bias. Here gender refers not to the "biological" differences between men and women but the social constructs of masculine and feminine identity. It is claimed that in mainstream international relations masculinity is associated with objectivity. Analytical feminists would see neo-realisms dislike of domestic explanations for explaining interstate behaviour as an example of this bias. Normative feminist sees theorizing as part of an agenda for change.

Criticisms of feminist international relations theory include its portrayal of third world women.

Alternative approaches

English School

The 'English School' of international relations theory, also known as International Society

International Society

International Society may refer to the following:* English school of international relations theory* International Society for Krishna Consciousness* International Society for Contemporary Music* International Society of Automation...

, Liberal Realism, Rationalism or the British institutionalists, maintains that there is a 'society of states' at the international level, despite the condition of 'anarchy' (literally the lack of a ruler or world state). Despite being called the English School many of the academics from this school were neither English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

or from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. A great deal of the work of the English School concerns the examination of traditions of past international theory, casting it, as Martin Wight did in his 1950s-era lectures at the London School of Economics, into three divisions: 1. Realist or Hobbesian (after Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...

), 2.
Rationalist (or Grotian, after Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...

), 3. Revolutionist (or Kantian, after Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

).In broad terms, the English School itself has supported the rationalist or Grotian tradition, seeking a middle way (or via media) between the 'power politics' of realism and the 'utopianism' of revolutionism. The English School reject behavioralist approaches to international relations theory.

Functionalism

Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose principally from the experience of European integration

European integration

European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...

. Rather than the self-interest that realists see as a motivating factor, functionalists focus on common interests shared by states. Integration develops its own internal dynamic: as states integrate in limited functional or technical areas, they increasingly find that momentum for further rounds of integration in related areas. This "invisible hand

Invisible hand

In economics, invisible hand or invisible hand of the market is the term economists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace. This is a metaphor first coined by the economist Adam Smith...

" of integration phenomenon is termed "spill-over." Although integration can be resisted, it becomes harder to stop integration's reach as it progresses. This usage, and the usage in functionalism in international relations

Functionalism in international relations

Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose during the inter-War period principally from the strong concern about the obsolescence of the State as a form of social organization...

, is the less commonly used meaning of the term functionalism.

More commonly, however, functionalism is a term used to describe an argument which explains phenomena as functions of a system rather than an actor or actors. Immanuel Wallerstein

Immanuel Wallerstein

Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...

employed a functionalist theory when he argued that the Westphalian international political system arose to secure and protect the developing international capitalist system. His theory is called "functionalist" because it says that an event was a function of the preferences of a system and not the preferences of an agent. Functionalism is different from structural or realist arguments in that while both look to broader, structural causes, realists (and structuralists more broadly) say that the structure gives incentives to agents, while functionalists attribute causal power to the system itself, bypassing agents entirely.

State Cartel Theory

State cartel theory in international relations is derived from an old institutional theory of economics, from the theory of private or enterprise cartel

Cartel

A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...

s. It has a German background, because Germany was formerly the land of highest developed economic cartels and the motherland of classical cartel theory. State cartel theory uses a mix of methods ranging from positivist data evaluation to critical socioeconomic analyses or reflexive methods like criticism of thinking or ideology. Among the other theories of International Relations, State cartel theory has most in common with Functionalism in international relations. A bit more than the latter, state cartel theory has its focus on a theory of international organizations.

Post-structuralism

Post-structuralism differs from most other approaches to international politics because it does not see itself as a theory, school or paradigm which produces a single account of the subject matter. Instead, post-structuralism is an approach, attitude, or ethos that pursues critique in particular way. Post-structuralism sees critique as an inherently positive exercise that establishes the conditions of possibility for pursuing alternatives.

Post-modernism

Post-modernist approaches to international relations are critical of metanarratives and denounces traditional IR's claims to truth and neutrality.

Postcolonialism

Postcolonial International relations scholarship posits a critical theory

Critical theory

approach to International relations

International relations

(IR), and is a non-mainstream area of international relations scholarship. Post-colonialism focuses on the persistence of colonial forms of power and the continuing existence of racism in world politics.

External links

Articles by IR Theorists
Theory Talks Interviews with key IR theorists
The Martin Institute
A Discussion and Overview of IR Theory and its Historical Roots at American University

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Introduction

Realism

Neorealism

Liberalism

Neoliberalism

Post-Liberalism

Constructivism

Marxism and Critical Theory

Feminism

Alternative approaches

English School

Functionalism

State Cartel Theory

Post-structuralism

Post-modernism

Postcolonialism

See also

Further reading

External links