| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Kant | Liberalism / Democratic Peace |
Woodrow Wilson | Liberalism / League of Nations |
E.H. Carr | Critique of liberal idealism / Realism debate |
Hobbes | Realism / International anarchy |
Thucydides | Realism / Power and conflict |
Morgenthau | Realism / Power |
Mearsheimer | Offensive realism |
Jervis | Defensive realism |
Hedley Bull | English School / Anarchical Society |
Alexander Wendt | Constructivism / “Anarchy is what states make of it” |
Thomas Kuhn | Paradigm shifts |
Karl Marx | Marxism / Class |
Nkrumah | Postcolonialism |
Edward Said | Postcolonialism / Orientalism |
Spivak | Postcolonial feminism |
Wollstonecraft | Liberal feminism |
Harriet Taylor Mill | Liberal feminism |
Cynthia Enloe | Marxist feminism |
Mohanty | Postcolonial feminism |
Carol Cohn | Poststructuralist feminism / Nuclear weapons |
V. Spike Peterson | Feminist IR |
Derrida | Poststructuralism / Deconstruction |
Foucault | Poststructuralism / Power + knowledge |
International Relations Theory | Theories provide different perspectives for understanding international events and explain why states, groups, and individuals behave the way they do. |
Traditional Theories | Theories that generally examine the international world as it is and focus heavily on states and the international system. |
Middle-Ground Theories | Theories that move beyond the traditional realism vs. liberalism debate and provide alternative explanations of international politics. |
Critical Theories | Theories that question commonly accepted assumptions and examine power, inequality, class, gender, colonialism, race, and other issues often overlooked by traditional theories. |
Liberalism | A theory that is generally optimistic about international politics and argues that peace and cooperation are possible through democracy, trade, diplomacy, and international organisations. |
Liberalism: Main Ideas | Cooperation, democracy, international trade, international organisations, diplomacy, international law, and the possibility of progress. |
Liberalism: Human Nature | Liberals generally believe humans are capable of cooperation and that conflict is not unavoidable. |
Liberalism: Goal | A more peaceful international system in which cooperation can reduce the likelihood of war. |
Democratic Peace Theory | The idea that democratic states are less likely to go to war with one another. |
Democratic Peace Theory Limitation | It does not mean democracies never fight wars; the theory specifically focuses on the relationship between democratic states. |
Trade and Liberalism | Liberals see trade as a positive-sum interaction because both sides can potentially benefit. |
Positive-Sum Interaction | An interaction in which participating sides can all gain something. |
Absolute Gains | The total benefits a state receives from an interaction; liberals are generally more concerned with whether states benefit than with who benefits more. |
International Organisations and Liberalism | Liberals view international organisations as places where states can communicate, negotiate, cooperate, and resolve disputes. |
International Cooperation | The process of states working together to achieve shared goals or solve common problems. |
Diplomacy | The process of negotiating and communicating between states in order to manage relationships and resolve conflicts. |
International Law | Rules and agreements that regulate relationships and behaviour between states and other international actors. |
Realism | A theory that emphasises international anarchy, state power, survival, security, self-help, and competition. |
Realism: Main Ideas | States are the central actors; the international system is anarchic; states prioritise survival and security; and power is extremely important. |
Realism: View of International Politics | International politics is dangerous and competitive because there is no higher authority above states to guarantee their security. |
Realism: Human Nature | Realism emphasises self-interest, competition, insecurity, and the struggle for power. |
International Anarchy | The condition in which there is no higher sovereign authority above states in the international system. |
Anarchy vs. Chaos | Anarchy does not necessarily mean complete chaos; it means there is no higher authority above sovereign states. |
Statism | The idea that the state is the central actor in international politics. |
Survival | The idea that states must prioritise protecting themselves and ensuring their continued existence. |
Self-Help | The idea that states must rely primarily on themselves for security because there is no higher international authority guaranteeing their protection. |
Three Ss of Realism | Statism, survival, and self-help. |
Power in Realism | Power is central because states need power to protect their security and survive in an anarchic system. |
Relative Gains | The amount one state gains compared with another; realists worry when another state gains more because that could increase its relative power. |
Absolute vs. Relative Gains | Absolute gains focus on whether everyone benefits; relative gains focus on who benefits more compared with others. |
Realism and Trade | Realists do not necessarily oppose trade but consider how trade affects state power, security, and relative gains. |
Realism and International Organisations | Realists argue that states participate in international organisations when doing so serves their interests and that powerful states remain especially important. |
Liberalism vs. Realism | Liberalism emphasises cooperation, democracy, trade, and institutions; realism emphasises anarchy, power, survival, self-help, and competition. |
Isolationism | A policy of reducing or avoiding international interaction. |
Realism vs. Isolationism | Realism does not mean isolationism; realists may support trade, alliances, diplomacy, and other international relationships when they benefit state security. |
Offensive Realism | A form of realism arguing that states have strong incentives to increase their power because the international system is dangerous. |
Defensive Realism | A form of realism arguing that states may be better off avoiding unnecessary aggression because excessive expansion can create insecurity and provoke other states. |
Offensive vs. Defensive Realism | Offensive realism emphasises seeking greater power; defensive realism emphasises security and avoiding unnecessary aggression. |
Balancing | A strategy in which states increase their own power or form alliances to counter a powerful or threatening state. |
Bandwagoning | A strategy in which a state aligns with a stronger or threatening state rather than attempting to oppose it. |
English School | A middle-ground approach arguing that the international system is anarchic but states can still form an international society based on shared rules, norms, and expectations. |
Anarchical Society | The idea that international politics can be anarchic while states still create order through shared rules, norms, and institutions. |
International Society | The idea that states can coexist without a world government while following shared rules and expectations. |
Constructivism | A theory arguing that international politics is socially constructed through ideas, identities, norms, and interactions. |
Constructivism: Main Idea | Many things that appear natural or permanent in international politics are created through social interaction and can change over time. |
Social Construction | The idea that political realities are created and maintained through human interaction rather than being completely natural or permanent. |
Norms | Shared expectations about appropriate behaviour. |
Identity | A socially constructed understanding of who an individual, group, or state is and how it relates to others. |
Ideas and Constructivism | Constructivists argue that ideas can shape how states understand their interests and how they behave. |
Agents | Individuals or actors who make choices and participate in international politics. |
Structures | The larger systems and environments that influence actors and their behaviour. |
Agents and Structures | The idea that actors are influenced by structures but can also help change those structures. |
Anarchy Is What States Make of It | The constructivist idea that anarchy does not have one fixed meaning; states’ interactions and perceptions help determine what anarchy means. |
Hobbesian Anarchy | A hostile relationship in which states view one another as enemies and focus heavily on survival and self-help. |
Lockean Anarchy | A relationship in which states view one another as rivals but generally accept each other’s right to exist. |
Kantian Anarchy | A relationship in which states view one another as friends and develop strong cooperation and shared security. |
Hobbesian vs. Lockean vs. Kantian | Hobbesian = enemies; Lockean = rivals; Kantian = friends. |
Security Community | A group of states that develop relationships based on cooperation and shared expectations rather than expecting war between members. |
Norm Emergence | The stage when a new idea or standard of behaviour begins to develop and gain support. |
Norm Cascade | The stage when a growing number of states accept a new norm and encourage others to accept it. |
Norm Internalization | The stage when a norm becomes so widely accepted that it is treated as normal or expected behaviour. |
Norm Lifecycle | The process through which a norm develops, spreads, and eventually becomes accepted as normal. |
Critical Theory | Critical approaches question existing systems and examine who has power, who benefits, and whose perspectives are excluded. |
Positivism | An approach that views the world as something that can be observed and analysed using evidence, facts, and patterns. |
Postpositivism | An approach that questions whether researchers can ever be completely objective because their perspectives and identities can influence what they study. |
Interpretivism | An approach that focuses on subjective meanings and argues that complete objectivity is impossible. |
Qualitative Analysis | Research that uses detailed information, often from smaller numbers of people or cases, to understand meanings and experiences. |
Quantitative Analysis | Research that uses numerical data and larger datasets to identify patterns and relationships. |
Positivism vs. Postpositivism | Positivism emphasises objective observation and measurable evidence; postpositivism argues that researchers and their perspectives influence knowledge. |
Positivism vs. Interpretivism | Positivism focuses on observable evidence and patterns; interpretivism focuses on meanings, experiences, and subjective understanding. |
Paradigm | A widely accepted framework or way of understanding a subject. |
Paradigm Shift | A major change from one widely accepted way of understanding something to another. |
Marxism | A critical theory focused on class, capitalism, exploitation, economic inequality, and changing the existing system. |
Marxism: Main Focus | Class conflict, capitalism, economic inequality, exploitation, and power. |
Bourgeoisie | The capitalist or owner class that controls businesses and capital. |
Proletariat | The working class that depends on wages and labour for its livelihood. |
Class Conflict | The struggle between social classes with different economic interests. |
Marxism and Capitalism | Marxism argues that capitalism can create unequal relationships in which powerful economic groups benefit from the labour of workers. |
Marxism and the State | Marxists question the idea that the state is neutral and argue that political systems can help maintain existing economic power structures. |
Marxism and Warfare | Marxists may view warfare as connected to economic interests and the preservation of existing power structures. |
Postcolonialism | A critical theory examining colonialism, Western dominance, inequality, and the continuing effects of colonial relationships. |
Colonialism | The system in which powerful states exercise political, economic, and territorial control over other societies. |
Global North | Generally refers to wealthy and historically powerful states, especially those that have played major roles in the global political and economic system. |
Global South | Generally refers to developing and historically colonised regions that have often experienced unequal relationships with wealthier states. |
Neocolonialism | Indirect forms of control or influence over formerly colonised countries after formal colonial rule has ended. |
Neocolonialism Examples | Economic relationships, unequal trade, corporations, financial systems, and political influence can create continued external dependence. |
Postcolonial Critique of IR | Postcolonial theory argues that international relations has historically been dominated by Western perspectives and can reproduce colonial assumptions. |
Orientalism | The representation of Eastern societies by Western societies in ways that can portray the East as exotic, irrational, backward, dangerous, or inferior. |
Western vs. Eastern Representation | Orientalism can create a contrast in which the West is represented as modern and rational while the East is represented as backward or irrational. |
Feminism | A critical theory examining how gender shapes international politics and challenging the historical exclusion of women and feminine perspectives. |
Feminism in IR | Feminist IR examines women's representation, gender inequality, war, economics, security, and how international institutions are affected by gender. |
Gendered Reading of IR | Studying international relations while specifically examining how gender affects power, institutions, conflict, economics, and political roles. |
Patriarchal Culture | A social and political system in which men traditionally hold greater power and authority. |
Liberal Feminism | A form of feminism focused on equal rights, political representation, opportunities, and treatment for women. |
Marxist Feminism | A form of feminism examining how economic systems depend on and can exploit or undervalue women's labour. |
Postcolonial Feminism | A form of feminism examining how colonialism and Western perspectives affect women in the Global South. |
Poststructuralist Feminism | A form of feminism examining how ideas about masculinity and femininity are socially constructed through language and culture. |
Gender as Socially Constructed | The idea that many qualities and expectations associated with masculinity and femininity are created by society rather than being naturally fixed. |
Feminist Critique of IR | Feminists argue that traditional IR has often ignored women's experiences and treated traditionally masculine ideas such as aggression and competition as central. |
Poststructuralism | A critical theory that questions supposedly universal truths, dominant narratives, language, and assumptions that societies take for granted. |
Metanarrative | A broad explanation of how the world works that becomes widely accepted as unquestioned truth. |
Deconstruction | The process of examining language and texts to uncover hidden assumptions, contradictions, meanings, and power relationships. |
Power and Knowledge | The idea that power and knowledge influence each other; powerful groups can influence what becomes accepted as knowledge. |
Discourse | Shared ways of understanding and talking about an issue that shape how people interpret reality. |
Discourse and Power | Language does not simply describe reality; it can legitimise certain actions, delegitimise others, and reinforce power. |
Terrorist vs. Freedom Fighter | An example of discourse showing how different labels for political violence can create very different interpretations of the same person or action. |
Critical Theories and Power | Critical theories examine how power operates and how certain groups can be privileged while others are marginalised. |
Critical Theories and Traditional Theories | Critical theories question assumptions that traditional theories often take for granted and ask who benefits from the existing international system. |
Traditional vs. Critical Theories | Traditional theories generally explain how the existing international system works; critical theories also ask how the system was created, who benefits, and how it could change. |
Marxism vs. Postcolonialism | Marxism focuses primarily on class and capitalism; postcolonialism focuses primarily on colonialism, global inequality, and Western dominance. |
Marxism vs. Feminism | Marxism focuses on class and economic power; feminism focuses on gender and the ways gender structures political and social power. |
Postcolonialism vs. Feminism | Postcolonialism focuses on colonial relationships and global inequality; feminism focuses on gender, while postcolonial feminism combines both perspectives. |
Feminism vs. Poststructuralism | Feminism focuses on gender and gender inequality; poststructuralism focuses more broadly on language, discourse, knowledge, and power. |
Constructivism vs. Poststructuralism | Both question supposedly fixed realities, but constructivism focuses strongly on how ideas, identities, and norms are socially constructed while poststructuralism focuses heavily on language, discourse, and power. |
Realism and Warfare | Realists view war as a recurring possibility because international anarchy creates insecurity and states must protect themselves. |
Liberalism and Warfare | Liberals argue that war can be reduced through democracy, trade, diplomacy, international institutions, and cooperation. |
Marxism and Warfare | Marxists may connect war to economic interests, class structures, and the preservation of existing systems of power. |
Poststructuralism and Warfare | Poststructuralists examine how language and discourse shape perceptions of threats, enemies, weapons, and acceptable responses to war. |
International Organisations | Organisations created to facilitate cooperation, communication, agreements, and management of international problems. |
United Nations | The major international organisation designed to promote international peace, security, cooperation, and diplomacy. |
United Nations: Liberal View | Liberals see the UN as an important institution for diplomacy, cooperation, and peaceful conflict resolution. |
United Nations: Realist View | Realists emphasise that the UN has limited independent power and that powerful states remain central to international politics. |
United Nations: Constructivist View | Constructivists examine how the UN helps create, spread, and reinforce international norms. |
United Nations: Postcolonial View | Postcolonial scholars can criticise the UN for reflecting historical power relationships and the influence of former colonial powers. |
UN Security Council Permanent Five | The five permanent members are China, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. |
UN Security Council Veto | The power of each permanent Security Council member to block a substantive resolution. |
Postcolonial Critique of the Security Council | The permanent structure reflects historical power relationships because the permanent members were major victorious powers after World War II and include former colonial powers. |
Feminist Critique of International Organisations | Feminists argue that international organisations can reproduce gender inequality but can also create opportunities to promote women's rights. |
Women, Peace and Security | An international policy area focused on women's participation, protection, and rights in situations involving conflict and peace. |
International Relations Theories Compared | Liberalism focuses on cooperation; realism focuses on power and survival; constructivism focuses on ideas and norms; Marxism focuses on class; postcolonialism focuses on colonialism; feminism focuses on gender; poststructuralism focuses on language, discourse, and power. |