Theories of IR

Idealism
Realism
Neo-Realism
Structural Marxism
Neo-Liberalism
Social Constructivism
Critical International Theory
Feminism
Post-Modernism
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 Idealism
▪ Idealism theory emerged during the first world war (1914-
1918).
▪ millions were killed, Such war disturbed everyone
▪ Hence, Idealism gave the explanation of:
Q. 1 Why war happened and
Q. 2 how such war can be stopped in future?
▪ Two Major Reasons for War:
1. Lack of Democratic Institutions in Autocratic Nation
2. Military Alliances
▪ Austria & Germany Attacked Serbia
▪ Russia was duty bound to aid Serbia
▪ Britain and France were treaty bound to support Russia in
Attack
▪ Thus, Idealism theory suggested war can be avoided by
reforming democratic structure of autocratic nation and
by reforming international system
 Major Thinkers of Idealism

▪ He popularized Idealist Thought.

▪ He gave famous 14 Points Speech in 1918
▪ He received 1920 Nobel Peace Prize

Woodrow Wilson

▪ In his famous work ‘The Great Illusion’ (1909)

▪ He explains that it is an illusion that war is beneficial for the winner
▪ In modern times, war disrupts international commerce and Thus, conquest
territory is extremely expensive.

Norman Angell

▪ He argued that war happens because of Imperialism

▪ Imperialism subjugated foreign people and their resources
▪ Thus, it was becoming the primary source of international conflict

J.A. Hobson
 Criticism of Idealism

▪ E.H. Carr in his ‘Twenty Years Crisis: 1919-1939’ (1939), criticized Idealism
▪ He argued that Idealism misunderstood the fact the international
relations are based on cooperation
▪ But actually, it is based on conflict
▪ Some countries are better off than other
▪ They will attempt to preserve and defend their privilege position.
▪ But ‘haves not’ will struggle to change the situation.
▪ IRs are struggle between such conflicting interests and desires

E.H. Carr
 Realism

▪ Realism theory emerged during the period of

1930s-1940s
▪ It emerged as a challenge to Idealism during
inter-war period (1919-1939).
▪ Realists criticized idealism:
1. For ignoring the role of power struggle,
2. Overestimating the IR as arena of
cooperation,
3. Mistakenly believed that war could be
prevented
 Realism
Basic Assumptions

1. A pessimistic view of human nature i.e. self-interested, greedy, have lust of power;
2. IR are necessarily conflictual and that international conflicts are ultimately resolved by war;
3. A high regard for the values of national security and state survival;
4. States are primary actors. All other actors in world politics—individuals, international
organizations (IGOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), etc.—are either far less
important or unimportant;
5. International state system is an arena of anarchy i.e. no world government
6. States are unequal in power. There are Great powers and Small powers. International arena
is struggle among great powers for power and domination. Small or weaker powers are less
important.
 Types and Thinkers of Realism

Thucydides

Machiavelli
Classical Realism
Thomas Hobbes

Hans J. Morgenthau

Strategic Realism Thomas Schelling

Kenneth Waltz
Neo-Realism
John Mearsheimer
 Major Thinkers of Classical Realism

▪ His book ‘The History of Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)’

▪ States have unequal power and capabilities, must act accordingly to
ensure survival and prosperity.
▪ Failure to adapt to these realities can lead to danger or destruction.
Thucydides

▪ In The Prince (1532), Machiavelli asserts that the world is dangerous, and
Rulers must be strong like lions and cunning like foxes.
▪ Defend state interests and ensure survival above all else.
▪ Avoid Christian ethics; they jeopardize state survival and power.

Machiavelli

▪ In Leviathan (1691), no world government creates a "state of nature.”

▪ States escape internal anarchy but create external anarchy between themselves.
▪ International anarchy, as per Leviathan, ensures war, not permanent peace.

Thomas Hobbes
 Major Thinkers of Classical Realism

▪ In his ‘Politics Among Nation’ (1948), he argues that Human is a political

animal
▪ He Speaks of ‘animus dominandi’ i.e. Lust of Power
▪ Humans wants to enjoy the power and don’t want to dominate by others
▪ This is why they want to secure a territory for them
▪ Thus, they create an effective state for themselves to defend their interest
▪ The anarchical system of states invites international conflict which ultimately
takes the form of war

Hans. J. Morgenthau
 Major Thinkers of Classical Realism

Six Principles
1. Politics is governed by objectives laws; IR theory is a rational theory that
reflects these laws
2. International politics is about national interests and the national interest
defined in terms of power, national interest keeps changing
3. The political ethics is different from the universal moral principles
4. Particular nations cannot impose their national aspirations on other nations
5. Pessimistic knowledge of human nature is in the centre of international
politics
6. Politics is an autonomous sphere, independent of economics and personal
morality

Hans. J. Morgenthau
 Neo-Realism

Basic Assumptions

1. States and other actors interact in an anarchic environment i.e. no central authority
2. The Structure of the system is the major determinant of actor behaviour
3. Sates are self-interested-oriented, and an anarchic and competitive system pushes them to
self-help over cooperative behaviour
4. States are rational actors, selecting strategies to maximise benefits and minimize losses
5. The most critical problem presented by anarchy is survival
6. That’s why states see all other states as potential enemies and threat to their national
security
7. This distrust and fear creates security dilemma; this motivates all policies
 Neo-Realism v/s Realism

Differences Similarity

1. Human nature is not important for 1. Both believe that states are important
neorealism, it does not focus on human actors
nature to build its theory 2. Both believe that there is anarchy at
2. Ethics of states craft and diplomacy is international system
less important 3. Thus, Survival and self-help is more
3. Structure determines state leader's important
action
 Types of Neo-Realism

Strategic Realism

Structural Realism
Neo-Realism
Offensive Realism

Defensive Realism
 Strategic And Structural Realism

Strategic Realism

▪ In The Strategy of Conflict (1960), leaders make strategic decisions.

▪ Power should influence enemies without using brute force; coercion is key.
▪ Brute force involves use; coercion reserves power and seeks bargains.

Thomas Schelling

Structural Realism

▪ The Theory of International Politics (1979), structures dominate leaders.

▪ Great powers shape international structures, limiting leaders' choices.
▪ Bipolar systems ensure stability, unlike less secure multipolar systems.

Kenneth Waltz
 Offensive v/s Defensive Realism

1. His Book ‘The Tragedy of Great Power Politics’ (2001)

2. He regards Watlz’s realism as defensive realism because it recognizes that
state seek power in order to be secure and survive
3. State does not need excessive power beyond its survival
4. He calls his own realism as offensive realism
5. It rests on the assumption that great powers ‘are always searching for
opportunities to gain power over their rivals, with hegemony as their final
goal’

John Mearsheimer
 Structural Marxism

Basic Assumptions

1. Global politics is dominated by a unified global capitalist economic and political system.
2. This system advances the interests of the dominant nation and ruling class.
3. Class is the main actor; states, MNCs, and organizations represent dominant class interests.
4. Global capitalism's structure divides the world into core, periphery, and semi-periphery.
5. International relations reflect the global mode of production, not just power or interests.
6. Dominant classes use force and cultural hegemony to mainstream their ideologies globally.
 Strands of Structural Marxism

Imperialism
Theory

Dependency
Theory Marxism Gramscianism

Critical Theoy
 ▪ He gives the idea of combined and uneven development
▪ Combined development occurs as no state develops independently in a capitalist system.
▪ Uneven development arises due to differing rates of progress among states.
▪ Some would necessarily develop faster than others

Leon Trotsky

▪ In The Accumulation of Capital (1913), capitalism arose alongside pre-capitalist relations.

▪ Capitalism's growth depended on pre-capitalist societies for markets and cheap labor.
▪ Advanced capitalist countries exploited pre-capitalist societies to sustain their
production.

Rosa Luxemburg

▪ In Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917), capitalism reached monopoly stage.
▪ A core-periphery structure emerged, with the core exploiting the less-developed periphery.
▪ Workers worldwide can't unite due to core exploiting periphery to improve local conditions.

Vladmir Lenin
 Dependency Theory

1. In The Modern World System (1974), Wallerstein explores global historical

systems shaped by capitalism.
2. The modern world system emerged in 16th-century Europe, driven by
capitalism.
3. It consists of a hierarchy: core (rich, industrialized), periphery (poor, raw
material-based), and semi-periphery (mixed economies).
4. Core areas dominate with advanced industries, while peripheral areas
supply raw materials and forced labor.
5. Semi-peripheral areas stabilize the system, hosting industries relocated from
the core.
6. Wallerstein argues that after the Cold War, this system has entered its "end
phase."
Immanuel Wallerstein
 Dependency Theory

1. He is known for his work ‘The Underdevelopment of

Development’ (1974)
2. He argues that developing nations have failed to develop not
because of ‘internal barriers to development’ as modernization
theorists argue,
3. but because the developed West has systematically
underdeveloped them, keeping them in a state of dependency
4. World Capitalist System consists of Core and Periphery nations
5. The core nations exploit the peripheral nations because of their
superior economic and military power.
Andre Gunder Frank
 Gramscianism

1. He is known for his essay ‘Social Forces, States and World

Order: Beyond IR Theory’ (1981)
2. ‘Theory is always for some one and for some purpose’
3. No Theory is objective or value free
4. Realism serves the interests of developed states’ ruling elites to
legitimate status-quo
5. Dominant Powers, shaped the world to suit their interests
through hegemony (consent, not force)
6. For e.g. USA and UK, spread the hegemonic idea of free trade
Robert W. Cox which ultimately benefit them
 Critical Theory

1. Developed by Frankfurt School: Herbert Marcuse, Jurgen

Habermas, Andrew Linklater
2. More focus on superstructure- culture, bureaucracy,
media, family
3. Proletariat revolution absorbed by mainstream system-
one dimensional society (Marcuse)
4. Emancipation: more equal and just world, reconciling
with nature, Habermas argue for radical democracy i.e.
widest participation of people across borders
5. Andrew Linklater holds that EU is best example of such
emancipatory system
Basic Assumptions

1. Liberals argue that modernization is a process involving progress in most areas of life.
2. The process of modernization enlarges the scope for cooperation across international
boundaries.
3. Progress means a better life for at least the majority of individuals.
4. Humans possess reason, and when they apply it to international affairs greater cooperation
will be the end result
 Types of Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism
Main Arguments
▪ Rejects realism, arguing IR is not only state-to-state relations.
▪ Emphasizes transnational relations between people, groups, and organizations.
▪ James Rosenau highlights transnational relations' significant impact on global events.
▪ Relations between people are more cooperative and peaceful than between states.

▪ Political Community and North Atlantic (1957) argues transnational ties create a security
community.
▪ A security community means conflicts are resolved peacefully, as seen in the North Atlantic.
▪ Four key conditions for security community: increased communication, mobility, economic
ties, and mutual human transactions.
Karl Deutsch

▪ The Study of Global Interdependence (1980) supports a liberal view of peaceful

transnational networks.
▪ A stable world arises as state-centric power gives way to interconnected individuals
and groups.
▪ Overlapping cosmopolitan identities reduce the likelihood of conflicts escalating into
James Rosenau violence.
Main Arguments

▪ Since the 1950s, industrialized countries have grown and become increasingly interdependent.
▪ These nations prioritize economic development and trade over military expansion.
▪ Trading states like Japan and Germany focus more on economic self-sufficiency than military.
▪ Wars are more common in less developed countries, where land remains highly valued.

▪ Functionalist theory suggests greater interdependence fosters peace through collaboration.

▪ Technical experts, not politicians, solve problems in areas like transport, communication, and
finance.
▪ Citizens transferring loyalty to international organizations promotes political integration and
lasting peace.
David Mitrany

▪ Ernst Haas’s neofunctionalist theory rejects separating technical matters from politics.
▪ Integration occurs as self-interested political elites cooperate and shift loyalties to a
new center.
▪ The concept of "spillover" suggests cooperation in one area fosters cooperation in
others.
Ernst Haas
1. Keohane and Nye have given idea of complex interdepence in
their book ‘Power and Interdependence’ (1977)
2. Instead of state leaders, various branches of government and
different actors maintain relations between states
3. There is a host of transnational relations between individuals
and groups outside of the state.
4. The ‘low politics’ of economics and social affairs has priority
over the ‘high politics’ of security and survival
5. Military force is less useful; negotiating skills imp
6. Complex International world is more friendly and cooperative
 Institutional Liberalism Republican Liberalism

1. International institutions, 1. Liberal democracies rarely fight

independent of states, promote each other, promoting Kant’s idea
cooperation but struggle to control of "perpetual peace”.
state behavior. 2. Michael Doyle cites three reasons:
2. Institutions include organizations (e.g., citizen control, shared moral
NATO, EU) or rules governing actions values, and economic ties.
like aviation or shipping. 3. Shared values lead to a "pacific
3. Criticizes realism: post-Cold War union" that resolves conflicts
multipolarity causes instability, but peacefully.
institutions reduce anarchy's effects. 4. Economic interdependence, or
4. Institutions provide information, Kant’s "spirit of commerce,"
reduce fear, and offer forums for further strengthens peace
negotiation between states. between democracies.
Basic Assumptions

1. Constructivism, coined by Nicholas Onuf, focuses on ideas and beliefs in IR.

2. Ideas shape actions; material facts are secondary to perceptions of threats.
3. Example: The U.S. views 500 UK nuclear weapons as less threatening than 5 from North
Korea because the UK is a friend, and North Korea is not.
4. Actors can reshape structures through social will, opposing neorealist determinism.
5. Neorealists claim identities and interests are fixed, but constructivists argue they are
interaction-driven.
6. Interactions between states create and evolve identities and interests over time.
7. Key thinkers include Alexander Wendt, Emanuel Adler, Martha Finnemore, and Ted Hopf.
 1. In Anarchy is What States Make of It (1992), Wendt critiques
neorealism’s deterministic view of anarchy.
2. Anarchy depends on state interactions, not inherent structure;
states can redefine relationships (e.g., Cold War's end).
3. Wendt identifies : Hobbesian, Lockean, and Kantian cultures
Three types of anarchy.
1. Hobbesian Culture: States are enemies; survival depends on
constant war ("war of all against all").
2. Lockean Culture: States are rivals but respect each other's
right to exist (post-Westphalia, 1648).
3. Kantian Culture: States are friends, resolve disputes
Alexander Wendt peacefully, and defend each other against threats.
4. Anarchy allows for cooperation; military power need not lead
to enmity or arms races.
 1. Main work: National Interests in International Society
(1996)
2. Norms of international society define states identities
and interests
3. Such norms are transmitted through international
organisations
4. Int Org teach states what their interests should be
5. Ex: UNESCO taught about science bureaucracy policy
6. Red Cross taught what was ‘appropriate behaviour’ for
civilized states involved in war,
Martha Finnemore
7. World Bank taught how developing countries should
promote poverty alleviation
▪ Critical theory has been the thinking of the
Frankfurt School
▪ A group of Marxist-influenced theorists who
worked at the Institute of Social Research,
which was established in Frankfurt in 1923
▪ During Nazism, this institute was shifted to
USA in the 1930s and it was re-estb in Frankfurt
in the early 1950s (dissolved in 1969)
▪ First generation thinkers: Theodor Adorno, Max
Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse.
▪ Second generation thinker: Jurgen Habermas
▪ Main Thinkers of Critical International Theory:
Robert Cox and Andrew Linklater
Basic Assumptions

1. Critical theory underlines the linkages between knowledge and politics, that theories
should be understood in framework of interests and values
2. Commitment to emancipatory politics: seeks to uncover structures of oppression and
injustice in global politics to advance the cause of individual and collective freedom
3. It promotes idea of political community beyond nation states, to have more inclusive and
cosmopolitan notion of political identity (World Citizenship)
4. Critical theory, criticizes existing system of domination. It identifies process and forces that
will create an alternative world order
 1. Robert Cox differentiates between problem-solving theories
and critical theory in international relations.
2. Problem-solving theories (e.g., neorealism) maintain the
existing system and hegemonic interests.
3. Neorealists view anarchy as unchangeable and advocate
balance of power for order.
4. Cox’s famous phrase: "Theories are always for someone and for
some purpose.”
5. Critical theory critiques domination and identifies forces to
create alternative world orders.
6. Cox sees states (especially Third World ones) and social
Robert Cox movements as key counter-hegemonic actors.
7. His book, Production, Power, and World Order (1987), explores
alternatives to global capitalism.
 1. Andrew Linklater's critical theory extends moral and political
community beyond the state.
2. His theory addresses unjust inclusion and exclusion at
domestic, transnational, and international levels.
3. Linklater proposes a "triple transformation" of the political
community: universal, less unequal, and sensitive to
differences.
4. He envisions a post-national community that questions
national boundaries (e.g., post-Westphalian systems).
5. Linklater argues globalization makes nation-states unable to
meet justice, welfare, and security needs.
Andrew Linklater
6. He sees the European Union as a model for a post-Westphalian
political community.
7. His key work is The Transformation of Political Community
(1998).
Basic Assumptions

1. Its first and foremost criticism is that IR assumed that women had no role to play in world
politics.
2. World politics does not affect women and men equally. For example: war affect women
more than men
3. There is domination of males (elite) in the field and study of IR.
4. Basic notion of human nature was gendered. Concepts like conflict, competition, security
and power based on human nature have masculine values.
5. IR theorists focus on ‘high politics’ such as diplomacy, war and statecraft, visualizing a
world of male-centric statesmen and soldiers.
Major Works

1. Women and War by Jean Bethe Alsatian in 1987;

2. International Relations Theory: Contributions of a Feminist Standpoint by Robert Ethane in
1989;
3. Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Sense of International Politics by Cynthia Enloe in
1990;
4. Gender and International Relations by Grant and Newland in 1991;
5. Gender in International Relations by Ann Tickner in 1992.
 1. Dynamic Objectivity: Human nature includes both masculine and
feminine traits; objectivity should emphasize connection over
domination.
2. National Interest is Dynamic: National interest extends beyond power to
address global issues like terrorism, climate change, and poverty
through cooperation.
3. Power Redefined: Power as domination reflects masculine perspectives;
collective empowerment offers a broader, inclusive approach.
4. Morality and Politics are Linked: Political actions have moral
implications; justice and moral principles cannot be ignored.
5. Discover Moral Commonalities: Feminism seeks shared moral
aspirations to resolve international conflicts and build global
Ann Tickner community.
6. Reject Autonomy of Politics: Autonomy tied to masculinity excludes
women’s concerns; politics must include diverse contributions.
 1. Cynthia Enloe argued that gender is critically important but
overlooked in IR.
2. She highlighted women's subordinate yet vital role in the global
economic order.
3. Women from developing countries often occupy low-paid, low-
status industrial jobs.
4. Women predominantly hold low-end service sector roles like
cleaning, cooking, and serving.
5. International politics relies on male control over women,
including diplomats' wives and sex work around military bases.
Cynthia Enloe 6. The international division of labor and politics collectively
perpetuate women's subordination.
Basic Assumptions

1. Postmodernism/ Poststructuralism became part of IR in 1980s

2. It focuses on high politics (war, security and military)
3. It maintains a concern with states’ construction of threats and enemies
4. They are critical of two important aspects:
1. Critical of the way most states conduct their foreign policies
2. Critical of how most IR theories tell us to study what states do
5. They disagree with the realism’s understanding of state as self-help units that stays the same through history
6. International anarchy is not given but it is reproduced by the system
7. Postmodernists want us to take seriously what is excluded and marginalized by existing policies and theories
8. Important postmodernist theorists are Richard Ashley, David Campbell, James Der Derian, Jim George, Fritz
Kratochwil, Michael Shapiro, and Rob Walker
 Discourse

1. Language is essential to how we make sense of world

2. Language is social because we cannot make our thoughts
understandable to others without a set of shared codes
3. This is explained by concept of discourse
4. Michel Foucault defined discourse as a linguistic system
that orders statements and concepts
5. The words we use to describe something are not neutral, it
has some political implications
6. Explaining the Sudan conflict as a ‘genocide’ (pressure on
Michel Foucault int community) or as a ‘tribal warfare’ (less pressure)
 Deconstruction

1. Deconstruction is an approach to understanding the

relationship between text and meaning.
2. This theory was developed by Jacques Derrida
3. Language is made up of dichotomies, for e.g. developed-
underdeveloped, modern-premodern, civilized-barbaric
4. These dichotomies are not neutral because one term is
superior to other
5. Deconstruction shows how such dichotomies make
something, for instance how developed country is look like
6. It is not an objective description, but structured set of
Jacques Derrida
values
 Intertextuality

1. The theory of intertextuality is developed by Julia Kristeva.

2. It holds that we can see world politics as made up of texts
3. Texts form an intertext: All texts refer to other texts that
came before them.
4. For ex: EU or UN quote previous declarations and
statements by member countries
5. It also calls attention to silence and taken for granted
assumptions
6. For e.g. NATO documents from cold war, not necessarily
Julia Kristeva mention Soviet Union.