Theories Of International Relations Theory

WHAT IS IR THEORY, WHO IS IT FOR AND WHAT PURPOSE DOES IT SERVE?

‘We are all theoreticians and the only issue is what kinds of theories should we adopt to guide us in our attempts to understand the subject matter’. (Joynt and Corbett 1978: 102)

Andre khan In the field of International Relations the complexity of the world is reflected, using many theories, concepts, and methods in trying to unstitch, describe and explain it. The conceptual framework upon which international relations theories are built despite diversity, aims to analyze and give complete explanations for the different, as well as, dynamic events and phenomenon in world politics. Many theories of International relations are often internally and externally contested,

The discipline of International Relations employs different definitions. Robert W. Cox in his seminal article Social Forces, States, and World Orders (1986) stated that international relations is the area of study concerned with interrelationships among states in an epoch in which states and most commonly nation-states are the principle aggregations of political power. The article further stated that it is concerned with the outcomes of war and peace and this has obvious practical importance. According to the article, ‘Why International Relations has Failed as an Intellectual Project and What to do About it’ by Buzan and Little, international relations borrows a lot from other areas in social science but rarely filters into them. Moreso, It has utilized many history and sociology theorist in formulating and grounding its

David A.Lake (2013) articulates that the orthodox historiography of the development of international relations discipline is typically written in terms of great (inconclusive) debates and Grand theories: Iealism vs. Realism vs. Liberalism. Two of the foundational texts in the field, E. H. Carr’s, The Twenty Years’ Crisis (first published in 1939) and Hans Morgenthau’s Politics Among Nations (first published in 1948) were works of theory in three central respects (Scott Burchill and, Andrew Linklater 2005). Both developed a wide-ranging framework of analysis and provided future analysts with the theoretical tools for understanding. The purpose of theory in the early years of the discipline was to change the world for the better by removing the blight of war. However, over time the nature and focus of the discipline has changed significantly through a series of so-called ‘great debates’. Since the emergence of the 3rd (or 4th) debate we have seen more and more theories emerge. In response to this theoretical proliferation came a discussion of the extent and kind of theoretical pluralism IR scholars should