International Relations (Introduction)

The study of International relations as theory can be traced to E.H. Carr's "The Twenty Years Crisis" which was published in 1939 and to Hans Morgenthau's "Politics Among Nations" published in 1948.^[4] 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.^[5] Early international relations scholarship in the Interwar years focused on the need for the balance of power system to be replaced with a system of collective security. These thinkers were later described as "Idealists".^[6] The leading critique of this school of thinking was the "realist" analysis offered by Carr.International relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed.^[1] Ole Holsti 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 may completely disregard an event that a constructivist might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. The three most popular theories are realism, liberalism and constructivism.^[2]
International relations theories can be divided into "positivist/rationalist" theories which focus on a principally state-level analysis, and "post-positivist/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, institutionalism, Marxism, neo-Gramscianism, and others. However, two positivist schools of thought are most prevalent: realism and liberalism; though increasingly, constructivism is becoming mainstream^[3] and postpositivist theories are increasingly popular, particularly outside the United States.

References

1. ^ http://www.irtheory.com/
2. ^ Snyder, Jack, 'One World, Rival Theories, Foreign Policy, 145 (November/December 2004), p.52
3. ^ Reus-Smit, Christian. "Constructivism." Theories of International Relations, ed. Scott Burchill ... [et al.], pp.209, 216. Palgrave, 2005.
4. ^ Burchill, Scott and Linklater, Andrew "Introduction" Theories of International Relations, ed. Scott Burchill ... [et al.], p.1. Palgrave, 2005.
5. ^ Burchill, Scott and Linklater, Andrew "Introduction" Theories of International Relations, ed. Scott Burchill ... [et al.], p.6. Palgrave, 2005.
6. ^ Burchill, Scott and Linklater, Andrew "Introduction" Theories of International Relations, ed. Scott Burchill ... [et al.], p.7. Palgrave, 2005.