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International relations theory attempts to provide a Conceptual Model upon which international relations can be analyzed. Each theory is reductive and essentialist to different degrees, relying on different sets of assumptions respectively. As Oli Holsti describes them, international relations theories act as a pair of colored 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 number and character of the assumptions made by an international relations theory also determine its usefulness. Realism, a parsimonious and very essentialist theory is useful in accounting for historical actions (for instance why did X invade Y) but limited in both explaining systemic change (such as the end of the Cold War) and predicting future events. Liberalism , which examines a very wide number of conditions, is less useful in making predictions, but can be very insightful in analyzing past events. Traditional theories may have little to say about the behavior of former colonies, but Post-colonial theory may have greater insight into that specific area, where it fails in other situations. International relations theories can be divided into " and Liberalism ; though increasingly, Social-Constructivism is becoming mainstream and Postpositivist theories are increasingly popular, particularly outside the United States . REALISM See Also: Realism in international relations Realism makes several key assumptions. It assumes that nation-states are unitary, geographically-based actors in an Anarchic international system with no authority above capable of regulating interactions between states as no true authoritative World Government exists. Secondly, it assumes that Sovereign State s, rather than IGOs, NGOs or MNCs, are the primary actors in international affairs. Thus, states, as the highest order, are in competition with one another. As such, a state acts as a Rational autonomous actor in pursuit of its own Self-interest with a primary goal to maintain and ensure its own Security - and thus its Sovereignty and Survival . Realism holds that in pursuit of their interests, states will attempt to amass Resource s, and that relations between states are determined by their relative levels of Power . That level of power is in turn determined by the state's military and economic capabilities. Moreover, Realists believe that states are inherently aggressive (''offensive realism''), and that territorial expansion is only constrained by opposing power(s). This aggressive build-up, however, leads to a Security Dilemma where increasing one's own security can bring along greater instability as the opponent(s) builds up its own arms. Thus, security is a zero-sum game where only ''relative gains'' can be made. LIBERALISM See Also: Liberal international relations theory The precusor to liberal IR theory was "idealism"; however, this term was applied in a critical manner by those who saw themselves as 'realists', for instance E H Carr. Idealism in international relations usually refers to the school of thought personified in American diplomatic history by Woodrow Wilson, such that it is sometimes referred to as "Wilsonianism." Idealism holds that a state should make its internal political philosophy the goal of its foreign policy. For example, an idealist might believe that ending poverty at home should be coupled with tackling poverty abroad. Wilson's idealism was a precursor to liberal international relations theory, which would arise amongst the "institution-builders" after World War II. Liberalism holds that state preferences, rather than state capabilities, are the primary determinant of state behavior. Unlike realism where the state is seen as a unitary actor, liberalism allows for plurality in state actions. Thus, preferences will vary from state to state, depending on factors such as Culture , Economic System or Government Type . Liberalism also holds that interaction between states is not limited to the political/security ("high politics"), but also economic/cultural ("low politics") whether through commercial firms, organizations or individuals. Thus, instead of an anarchic international system, there are plenty of opportunities for cooperation and broader notions of power, such as Cultural Capital (for example, the influence of Film s leading to the popularity of the country's culture and creating a market for its exports worldwide). Another assumption is that Absolute Gain s can be made through co-operation and Interdependence - thus peace can be achieved. Democratic peace theory See Also: Democratic peace theory The controversial democratic peace theory argues that democracies have never (or almost never) made war on one another and have few lesser conflicts between each other. This is seen as contradicting especially the realist theories and this empirical claim is now one of the great disputes in political science. Numerous explanations have been proposed for the democratic peace. It has also been argued, as in the book '' Never At War '', that democracies conduct diplomacy in general very differently from nondemocracies. INSTITUTIONALISM See Also: Institutionalism in international relations CONSTRUCTIVISM :''Main article: Social Constructivism . Whereas realism deals mainly with security and material power, and liberalism looks primarily at economic interdependence and domestic-level factors, as the invariable foundation of the international system, but rather argue, in the words of Alexander Wendt , that "anarchy is what states make of it." CRITICAL THEORIES See Also: Critical international relations theory Many schools of thought in international relations have criticized the status-quo - both from other Positivist positions as well as Postpositivist positions. The former include Marxist And Neo-Marxist approaches and Neo-Gramscianism . Some may also consider Social Constructivism as a positivist theory. The latter include Postmodernist , Postcolonial and Feminist approaches, which differ from both realism and liberalism in their Epistemological and Ontological premise. Marxist theory See Also: Marxist international relations theory Marxist and Neo-Marxist international relations theories are positivist paradigms which reject the Realist / Liberal view of state conflict or cooperation; instead focusing on the economic and material aspects. It makes the assumption that the economic concerns transcend others; allowing for the elevation of ''class'' as the focus of study. Marxists view the international system as an integrated Capitalist system in pursuit of Capital Accumulation . FUNCTIONALISM See Also: Functionalism in international relations Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose principally from the experience of " of integration phenomenon is termed "spill-over." Although integration can be resisted, it becomes harder to stop integration's reach as it progresses. EXTERNAL LINKS
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