International Relations Theory, 5th Edition

Combining extensive commentary by the authors and excerpts from original scholarship, International Relations Theory evaluates all the major theoretical perspectives that political scientists use to analyze world politics.

This unique survey/reader not only looks at classic international relations theory but takes into account changes in the world and important developments in the field. Highly regarded for its lucid and comprehensive coverage, International Relations Theory explains the role of theory in studying world politics and invites readers to critically engage the field’s many controversies.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 Thinking About IR Theory

PART I: Images of International Relations
CHAPTER 2 Realism: The State and Balance of Power
CHAPTER 3 Liberalism: Interdependence and Global Governance
CHAPTER 4 Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and Postcolonialism
CHAPTER 5 The English School: International Society and Grotian Rationalism

PART II: Interpretive Understandings
CHAPTER 6 Constructivist Understandings
CHAPTER 7 Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern Understandings
CHAPTER 8 Feminist Understandings in IR Theory
PART III: Normative Considerations
CHAPTER 9 Normative IR Theory: Ethics and Morality