International Relations Theory – Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

Traditional theories
- Long-established, state-centric, maintain the status quo.
Middle-ground theories
- Bridge mainstream and critical positions; incorporate both power and ideas.
Critical theories
- Challenge foundational assumptions; give voice to marginalised perspectives.

Terms such as “realism” or “liberal” carry unique meanings in IR compared with art or domestic politics.
Always interpret theory names within the IR disciplinary context.

Thomas Kuhn (1962) explained how science shifts through “paradigm shifts.”
- Example: flat-earth belief replaced by round-earth evidence.
- In IR, shifts are less dramatic but still re-orient debate when theories lose explanatory power.

Core belief: humans are innately good; peace is both desirable and attainable.
Immanuel Kant (late 18th c.)
- “Perpetual peace” among states sharing liberal values.
- Citizens rarely desire war; elected governments less war-prone.
- Intellectual ancestor of Democratic Peace Theory—“democracies do not fight each other.”
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points (January 1918)
- Point 14 → create a “general association of nations.”
- Materialised as the League of Nations (1920).
- Collapse in 1939 challenged liberal optimism.

Rose to prominence during World War II; explained continued war despite inter-war optimism.
Sees international politics as a self-help arena characterised by international anarchy (no global sovereign).
Classical roots: Thucydides, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes.
- Hobbes: without authority, humans exist in a “war of all against all.”
- Proposed a social contract domestically; no counterpart exists globally ⇒ perpetual insecurity.
Hans Morgenthau (1948)
- Famous dictum: “All politics is a struggle for power.”
Human nature viewed as self-interested, pessimistic.
War is inevitable; peace = temporary armistice while states rearm.

Human nature: good/perfectible (L) vs. selfish/power-seeking (R).
View of cooperation: potentially institutionalised (L) vs. fragile & interest-bound (R).
Optimism vs. Pessimism: liberal family optimistic; realist family pessimistic.
Actors: both state-centric; liberals add role for IOs & NGOs.
Modern offshoots: Neoliberalism & Neorealism—retain family resemblances while updating assumptions.

Key concept: “international society.”
Hedley Bull – The Anarchical Society (1977)
- Accepts anarchy but stresses shared norms & institutions that create order.
- Blends realist structure with liberal society → “not quite realist, not quite liberal.”

Focus: ideas, norms, identities shape interests & behaviour.
Alexander Wendt (1992)
- Phrase: “Anarchy is what states make of it.”
- Agent–structure duality: structures constrain and construct agents.
Key proposition: if actors re-imagine norms, systemic qualities (even anarchy) can change.
IR becomes a historical process of norm evolution.

Society split between \text{bourgeoisie} & \text{proletariat}.
State system globalises class oppression; emancipation requires dissolving the state.

Highlights North–South inequalities & colonial legacies.
Edward Said – Orientalism (1978)
- Western depictions of “East” are distorted & serve power.
Seeks to include Global South voices; critiques Security Council composition.

Entered IR in 1980s; asks why decision-making is male-dominated.
V. Spike Peterson (1992): gender often invisible → must “take gender seriously.”
Explores how masculinity shapes war, diplomacy, security discourse.

Questions foundational “truths” (e.g., the state).
Jacques Derrida – deconstruction
- Language hides power; exposing it undermines taken-for-granted structures.
By shaking conceptual foundations, opens space for alternative politics.

Security Council: 5 permanent members (US, Russia, China, France, UK) + 10 rotating members.
Veto power allows any P5 to block major resolutions.
Peacekeepers authorised to use force only in self-defence.

Liberals
- IOs like UN vital to global governance, diplomacy, trade, norm enforcement.
Constructivists
- UN = arena where new norms emerge; elite interactions reveal identity shifts.
Realists
- UN effectiveness depends on alignment with great-power interests.
- Example: US invasion of Iraq (2003) despite UNSC opposition.
Marxists
- UN legitimises capitalist & imperial interests; humanitarian work = superficial “band-aids.”
Poststructuralists
- Deconstruct terms: “peacekeeping” vs. “peacemaking,” “Security” Council → security for whom?
- Language advances power of dominant states.
Feminists
- Leadership overwhelmingly male; feminine perspectives marginalised.
Postcolonialists
- Absence of African/Latin American P5 seats shows lingering neo-imperial hierarchy.

Theories offer lenses; same world appears differently through each.
Ethical dimension: who gets security, voice, emancipation?
Practical use: theories are analytical tools; select an issue → apply multiple lenses.
Emerging complexity in world politics → expansion of theoretical “family.”

Map theories on a spectrum (Traditional → Middle → Critical) to locate authors & debates.
Track core assumptions (human nature, anarchy, role of ideas, emancipation).
Practice applying each lens to a single case (e.g., climate change, trade wars) to solidify understanding.