1. chapter 1, thinking about ir theory,” includes a ne

1. 1. Chapter 1, “Thinking About IR Theory,”
includes a new reading by Thomas Walker
on the dangers of becoming wedded to a
single paradigm or image of world politics.
2. Chapter 2, “Realism: The State and Balance
of Power,” now has an expanded discussion
of Thucydides and new sections on defensive
and offensive realists, nonsystemic realist
explanations, and dynamic differential theory
of great power war.
3. Chapter 3, “Liberalism: Interdependence
and Global Governance,” expands the
discussion on both the impact of global-
ization on IR theory and the literature on
deliberative global governance and has a new
article by Robert Keohane on Elinor Ostrom’s
Governing the Commons.
4. Chapter 4, “Economic Structuralism:
Global Capitalism and Postcolonialism,”
provides more in-depth coverage of Antonio
Gramsci, Robert Cox, and the postcolonialism
literature. It also includes a new reading
by Barbara Bush on the role of culture in
imperial relations.
5. Each reading features an expanded
headnote and critical-thinking questions

2. that provides more context for the selection
and teases out its conceptual or theoretical
import.
If you’re wondering why you should buy
this new edition of International Relations
Theory, here are fi ve good reasons!
International
Relations Theory
Fifth Edition
PAUL R. VIOTTI
University of Denver
MARK V. KAUPPI
Georgetown University
Longman
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco
Upper Saddle River
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Viotti, Paul R.
International relations theory / Paul R. Viotti, Mark V.
Kauppi.—5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-08293-3 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-205-08293-9 (alk. paper)
1. International relations. I. Kauppi, Mark V. II. Title.
JZ1305.V56 2012
327.101—dc22 2010048600
Copyright © 2012, 2010, 1999 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
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4. to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, 1900 E.
Lake Ave., Glenview, IL 60025 or fax to (847) 486-3938 or
e-mail [email protected] . For information regarding
permissions, call (847) 486-2635.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10—DOC—14 13 12 11
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-08293-3
ISBN-10: 0-205-08293-9
www.pearsonhighered.com
B R I E F C O N T E N T S
Detailed Contents iv
Preface viii
CHAPTER 1 Thinking About IR Theory 1
PART I Images of International Relations 37
CHAPTER 2 Realism: The State and Balance of Power 39
CHAPTER 3 Liberalism: Interdependence and Global
Governance 129
CHAPTER 4 Economic Structuralis m: Global Capitalism and
Postcolonialism 189
CHAPTER 5 The English School: International Society and
Grotian Rationalism 239
PART II Interpretive Understandings 275

5. CHAPTER 6 Constructivist Understandings 277
CHAPTER 7 Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern
Understandings 322
CHAPTER 8 Feminist Understandings in IR Theory 360
PART III Normative Considerations 389
CHAPTER 9 Normative IR Theory: Ethics and Morality 391
Glossary 441
Index 471
iii
D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S
Brief Contents iii
Preface viii
CHAPTER 1
Thinking About IR Theory 1
The IR Field in an Age of Globalization 1
Epistemology, Methodology, and Ontology 2
What Is Theory? 4
Explanation and Prediction 5
Abstraction and Application 8
Levels of Analysis 8

6. Images 12
Interpretive Understandings 14
Normative Theory 16
A Look Ahead 17
Selected Readings
Thinking Theory Thoroughly /
James Rosenau 19
The Perils of Paradigm Mentalities:
Revisiting Kuhn, Lakatos, and Popper /
Thomas C. Walker 27
Suggestions for Further Reading 34
PART I Images of International
Relations 37
CHAPTER 2
Realism: The State and Balance
of Power 39
Major Actors and Assumptions 39
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 42
Thucydides 42
Machiavelli 45
Hobbes 47
Grotius 48
Clausewitz 49
Carr 50

7. Morgenthau 51
Power 52
Definitions 52
Measurement 53
System 54
Game Theory and Anarchy 55
Distribution of Capabilities and the Balance of Power 58
Change 68
Power Transition 68
Long Cycles 69
Globalization and Interdependence 71
Globalization 71
Interdependence and Vulnerability 71
Realists and International Cooperation 72
Realists and Their Critics 74
Realism: The Term Itself 74
The System and Determinism 75
Realists and the State 76
Realists and the Balance of Power 77
Realism and Change 78
Realism: The Entire Enterprise 79
Selected Readings
The Melian Dialogue / Thucydides 83
On Princes and the Security of Their States /
Niccolò Machiavelli 88

8. Of the Natural Condition of Mankind /
Thomas Hobbes 90
The State of War: Confederation as
Means to Peace in Europe / Jean-Jacques
Rousseau 93
iv
Detailed Contents v
Explaining War: The Levels of Analysis /
Kenneth N. Waltz 96
Hard and Soft Power in American Foreign
Policy / Joseph S. Nye, Jr. 109
Suggestions for Further Reading 117
CHAPTER 3
Liberalism: Interdependence
and Global Governance 129
Major Actors and Assumptions 129
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 131
Stoicism 132
Liberalism—Classical and Social Variants 132
Immanuel Kant 134
Richard Cobden 135
Joseph Schumpeter 135
Interest-Group Liberalism 135

9. Integration 137
Transnationalism 142
Interdependence 144
International Regimes 144
Neoliberal Institutionalism 147
Global Governance 149
Green Politics and the Environment 150
Economic Interdependence and Peace 152
The Democratic Peace 154
Decision Making 156
Change and Globalization 160
Liberals and Their Critics 161
Anarchy 161
Theory Building 162
The Democratic Peace 163
Voluntarism 163
Selected Readings
Producing Security / Stephen G. Brooks 167
Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons/
Robert O. Keohane 176
Suggestions for Further Reading 180

10. CHAPTER 4
Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism
and Postcolonialism 189
Major Actors and Assumptions 189
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 193
Karl Marx 193
Hobson and Imperialism 195
Lenin 196
Luxemburg and Revolution vs. Reform 197
Antonio Gramsci 198
Dependency Theorists 199
ECLA and UNCTAD Arguments 199
Radical Critiques 200
Domestic Forces 202
The Capitalist World-System 203
System 204
Political, Economic, and Social Factors 206
Change and Globalization 207
Postcolonialism 209
Economic Structuralists and Their Critics 213
The Question of Causality 213
Reliance on Economics 213
System Dominance 213
Theoretical Rigidity 214
Accounting for Anomalies 214
Defining Alternatives and Science as Ideology 215
Responses 215
Selected Readings

11. The Economic Taproot of Imperialism /
J. A. Hobson 219
Culture and Imperialism /
Barbara Bush 222
The Modern World-System as a Capitalist
World-Economy / Immanuel Wallerstein 227
Suggestions for Further Reading 233
CHAPTER 5
The English School: International Society
and Grotian Rationalism 239
Major Actors and Assumptions 239
vi Detailed Contents
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 241
Grotius 241
Kant 242
Carr 242
The Divergence of British and American
Scholarship 243
The Genesis of the English School 244
Levels of Analysis and Theory 246
Change 246
From System to International Society 246

12. From International Society to World Society 247
The English School, Liberals, and Social
Constructivists 249
The English School and Its Critics 250
Methodological Muddle 250
Historical Knowledge 250
Political Economy, the Environment, and Gender 250
Conceptual and Philosophical Eclecticism 251
Selected Readings
The Law of Nations on War, Peace and
Freedom of the Seas / Hugo Grotius 254
Inventing International Society /
Tim Dunne 260
Does Order Exist in World Politics? /
Hedley Bull 267
Suggestions for Further Reading 270
PART II Interpretive
Understandings 275
CHAPTER 6
Constructivist Understandings 277
Major Actors and Assumptions 278
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 279
Kant 279
Locke 280
Durkheim 281

13. Weber 281
Intersubjectivity 281
Structure, Rules, and Norms 284
Rules 285
Norms 286
Agents 287
Identity 287
Logic of Appropriateness 289
Interests 290
The Diversity of Social Constructivist Thought 291
Schools of Thought 291
Levels of Analysis 292
Wendt’s “Naturalist” Constructivism 293
Constructivist Affinities in the
Broader IR Field 297
Constructivists and Their Critics 297
Liberal and Realist Critiques 297
Debates within Constructivism and Postmodern
Challenges 298
Selected Readings
Constructing International Politics /
Alexander Wendt 302
Constructing Norms of Humanitarian
Intervention / Martha Finnemore 309

14. Suggestions for Further Reading 316
CHAPTER 7
Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern
Understandings 322
Positivism 323
Intellectual Precursors: Phenomenology
and Hermeneutics 328
Critical Theory: Major Assumptions 331
Postmodernism: Major Assumptions 333
Critical Theorists, Postmodernists,
and Their Critics 335
Summation 337
Selected Readings
Critical Explorations and the Highway
of Critical Security Theory / Ken Booth 339
Writing Security / David Campbell 348
Suggestions for Further Reading 355
Detailed Contents vii
CHAPTER 8
Feminist Understandings in IR Theory 360

15. Intellectual Precursors and Influences 360
Major Assumptions 362
Strands of Feminism in IR 364
Gender, War, and Security Studies 365
Gender and International Organizations 367
Gendered Understandings and IR Theory 368
Feminists and Their Critics 369
What Critics? 369
Research Program and Cumulative Knowledge 369
Selected Readings
The Logic of Masculinist Protection:
Reflections on the Current Security State /
Iris Marion Young 371
Why Women Can’t Rule the World:
International Politics According to Francis
Fukuyama / J. Ann Tickner 380
Suggestions for Further Reading 386
PART III Normative
Considerations 389
CHAPTER 9
Normative IR Theory: Ethics
and Morality 391

16. Norms, Ethics, and Morality 391
Normative Theory: Alternative Perspectives 392
The Levels of Analysis 392
Moral Relativism 393
Secular Bases for Moral or Ethical Choice 393
Justice and War 397
Applying Just War Theory in the Twenty-First
Century 399
Morality and Weaponry 400
Justice and Human Rights 402
The Enlightenment 402
Current Application 403
Humanitarian Treatment and the
Sovereign State 403
Armed Intervention and State
Sovereignty 405
Intervention and Civil Wars 406
Criteria for Humanitarian Intervention 407
Alternative Images and Foreign Policy
Choice 410
Rationality and Foreign Policy Choice 411
Values, Choices, and Theory 412
Selected Readings
Morality, Politics, and Perpetual Peace /
Immanuel Kant 415

17. The Nature of Politics / E. H. Carr 421
The Law of Peoples / John Rawls 425
On War and Peace—The Nobel Peace
Prize Speech / Barack Obama 430
Suggestions for Further Reading 436
Glossary 441
Index 471
P R E F A C E
T he idea for International Relations Theory resulted from a
conversation between the authors in 1982 as they strolled
through the grounds of Schloss Solitud , located just outside
Stuttgart, Germany. The topic of discussion was
the perennial problem of presenting in a relatively coherent
manner a significant
portion of the vast literature that comprises the field of
international relations
theory. After several years of classroom experimentation and
numerous other con-
versations, the result was the first edition of this volume,
published in 1987; with
subsequent editions in 1993 and 1999; and, after a decade-long
intermission, the
fourth edition in 2010. Informed by feedback from former
students, colleagues, and
reviewers in North America, Europe, East Asia, and elsewhere,
this fifth edition
continues to take account of changes in the world and major
developments within

18. the field that have occurred over the past quarter century.
International relations theorists try to make the world and
human interactions
within it more intelligible. They try to unpack the complexities
that surround our
subjective and intersubjective understandings of global politics.
And they disagree
substantially in these efforts. It is a field so torn by
controversies that the casual ob-
server may wonder if these IR theorists are writing about the
same world. At times,
IR theorists sound collectively like a cacophony of voices,
discordant and anything
but harmonious. On the other hand, we reflect that this out-of-
tune sound is also a
mark of a field in ferment, decidedly not moribund and
potentially very productive
of theories and understandings that may improve our grasp of
how the world works.
Theorists have observed the end of the Cold War, increasing
globalization, the
prevalence of state and non-state conflict, and global economic
crises. As in the previ-
ous editions, we’ve taken the time needed to reflect on and
assess both the impact of
these substantial developments as well as the increased
diversity in thought within the
images and interpretive understandings we identify.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
In this edition, we have added the following:
j A new reading in Chapter 1 by Thomas Walker on the
dangers of students in

19. IR becoming wedded to a single paradigm or image of world
politics. We also
update and expand coverage in Chapter 1 to set the stage for
subsequent chap-
ters on all the diverse perspectives—the theoretical approaches
now prevalent in
the IR field—realism, liberalism, economic structuralism,
English School, con-
structivism, postmodernism, critical theory, feminism, and
normative theory.
j In Chapter 2 an expanded discussion of Thucydides and
new sections
on defensive and offensive realists, nonsystemic realist
explanations, and
dynamic differential theory of great power war.
viii
Preface ix
j Expanded discussion in Chapter 3 on both the impact of
globalization on IR
theory and the literature on deliberative global governance—
adding as well a
new article by Robert Keohane on Elinor Ostrom’s Governing
the Commons.
j Broader coverage in Chapter 4 on economic structuralism
with an expanded dis-
cussion on Antonio Gramsci, Robert Cox, and the
postcolonialism literature. We
also add a new reading by Barbara Bush on the role of culture in
imperial relations.

20. j Identification, beginning with constructivism in Chapter 6
, of interpretive
under standings (constructivism, postmodernism, critical theory,
feminism) as
another overarching conceptual category that gives meaning to
the approaches
and theories they contain.
j Updated coverage of normative theory in Chapter 9 as a
value-oriented category
of theoretical inquiry not only on warfare, human rights, and
other ethical chal-
lenges facing policymakers, but also on how values relate to the
images and inter-
pretive understandings that influence scholarly work by
theorists in the IR field.
j Greater detail in the newly revised précis—the expanded
headnotes before
each selected reading in this edition that couple an overview
with critical
thinking questions of conceptual or theoretical import to think
about while
reading each article.
FEATURES
This volume (1) discusses and illustrates what is meant by
theory and why theoriz-
ing about IR is important; (2) analyzes and assesses the
underlying assumptions
and orientations that influence scholarly work in the IR field—
images that we label
realism, liberalism, economic structuralism, and the English
School and interpretive
understandings found in social constructivism, critical theory,

21. postmodernism, and
feminism ; (3) provides an overview of normative theory —
what ought to be done,
how actors should conduct themselves; (4) offers in the
chapters and readings rep-
resentative samples of theoretical works; (5) introduces the
reader to key concepts
used in the IR field (some indicated in boldface type)—hence,
an extensive glossary;
(6) encourages the reader to assess both historical and
contemporary conceptual
and theoretical works in the IR field; and (7) raises questions
that lead us to scru-
tinize critically diverse theoretical claims made in these works.
Indeed, if we are better equipped to analyze everyday events
from a conceptual
or theoretical perspective; to ask the right questions; to
recognize underlying assump-
tions in written works or public pronouncements by academics,
government officials,
journalists, and other commentators, this would transcend any
supposed achieve-
ment made simply by memorizing which author is associated
with what theory.
Keys to Navigating the IR Field
When dealing with the four images and four interpretive
understandings we have
identified, we hasten to underscore that these are not airtight,
mutually exclusive
categories of thought. As we maintained in earlier editions of
this book, they are best
understood more as pure or ideal types—general ways of
thinking about IR that can
serve as benchmarks that delineate major currents in the IR

22. field. Indeed, the works
x Preface
of particular scholars (and the scholars themselves) oftentimes
blend or cross from
one image or interpretive understanding to another.
Nevertheless, these categories
of thought presented in this volume do help us organize and
thus make better sense
of what remains a deeply divided field of inquiry—one made
even more difficult to
navigate by the “laundry” lists of “isms” found in many IR
theory books.
Images
Images that attempt a comprehensive, overarching view of the
field are the subject
matter in Part One, with separate chapters on (1) realism (with
new developments in
structural or neorealism) in Chapter 2 , (2) liberalism
(adding global governance found
in rational or neoliberal institutionalism) in Chapter 3 , (3)
economic structuralism
(with postcolonialism integrated with earlier discussions of
world-system theory and
dependency) in Chapter 4 , and (4) the English School (with
discussion of the Grotian
roots of international society and prospects for a Kantian world
society) in Chapter 5 .
Interpretive Understandings
The other “isms” that now dominate the field do not pretend to
provide so over-

23. arching, comprehensive a view of international relations or
world politics as these
four images do. Instead, their focus is on the interpretive or
subjective and inter-
subjective understandings we and others as human beings hold
about the world in
which we are immersed. Social constructivists in Chapter 6
and critical theorists
and postmodernists in Chapter 7 pose a substantial
challenge to positivists wedded
to scientific modes of inquiry. So do some feminists discussed
in Chapter 8 .
In Chapter 7 we also examine how the first three of the four
interpretive under-
standings (constructivism, critical theory, and postmodernism)
owe so much to the
work of Max Weber on Verstehen or interpretive
understanding and, more broadly,
to phenomenology—a philosophical inquiry into human
consciousness or the work-
ings of the mind that affect our interpretations of the
phenomena we observe. For its
part, feminism, and its focus on gender as an interpretive lens,
has a longer, also very
rich history influenced by, but separate (for the most part) from,
these philosophical
or phenomenological currents. Nevertheless, we group these
four modes of think-
ing into one broad category in Part Two—interpretive
understandings—precisely
because each is sensitive to the importance of interpretation, the
subjective and
intersubjective dimensions in and among human beings, the
actions they take, and
interactions among them that our theorizing takes into account.

24. Normative Considerations
The final part of this volume takes up in Chapter 9 the
philosophical underpinnings
of the IR field found in political theory. Normative theory
connects moral or ethical
obligation to the challenges that confront policymakers.
Conceptual understand-
ings and values in political theory also underlie both the images
and interpretive
understandings we identify. On images, we see values or norms
in the exercise of
power and the search for order in realism, the multilateral or
institutional remedies
for global problems in liberalism, the exploitative class or
interstate relations in
Preface xi
economic structuralism, and the search for “Grotian” rules and
“Kantian” norms
in international or world society in the English School.
Political theory also informs the interpretive understandings
scholars take to
IR whether (1) they identify international norms as ideational
structures, as social
constructivists are prone to do; (2) frame the critique offered by
critical theorists
looking for underlying power or other motives in ideologies
masquerading as if
they were scientifically grounded theories; (3) point us to the
value-laden mean-
ings in the concepts and theoretical claims IR scholars make

25. when we deconstruct
their work, as postmodernists do; or (4) find, as feminists are
prone to identify, the
gender-related values present not only in everyday life, but also
in IR theories that
frequently purport to be value neutral.
Though deeply divided, when viewed as a whole, the IR field is
intellectually
very vibrant. Journals and recently published books have been
filled with important
new theoretical work as well as challenges to already
established understandings
and responses from their defenders. Given understandable
constraints on the length
of this volume, it is impossible to cover every topic as
extensively as we might like,
much less reprint every article suggested by colleagues,
students, and reviewers.
Nevertheless, we hope that this book remains a useful starting
point and reference
in helping readers not only to understand current trends in a
still very dynamic field,
but also to gain an appreciation for the extent to which current
theoretical work
and debates rest so heavily upon the rich conceptual foundation
of earlier years and
across the millennia.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the review and critique of earlier
drafts of the manu-

29. script for this edition by Carina Solmirano, University of
Denver, who also combed
the literature extensively to find representative titles we have
included in the lists
of Suggested Readings that append each chapter. Paul R. Viotti,
Jr., then at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, and now at California
State University, Chico,
contributed to our discussion of interpretive understandings and
recommended
readings. As always, we thank both Emily and Natalie Kauppi
for their willingness
to contribute valuable time and skills to improve the quality of
the final manuscript.
Reviewers who went through the manuscript line by line and
offered most helpful
suggestions on this and the fourth edition include Andrew
Cortell, Lewis and Clark
Preface xiii
College; Zaryab Iqbal, Penn State University; Lee Metcalf,
Florida State University;
and Celine Jaquemin, St. Mary’s University. Finally, we are
grateful for substantial
discussions with our editors at Pearson Longman—Vikram
Mukhija and, earlier,
Eric Stano. We also appreciate early inputs from Jack Donnelly,
University of
Denver, and Joyce Kaufman, Whittier College.
Paul R. Viotti,
University of Denver, Josef Korbel School of International
Studies

30. Mark V. Kauppi,
Georgetown University
This page intentionally left blank
1
CHAPTER
Thinking About
IR Theory
W hy do wars occur? Is nationalism the primary cause? Or
ideology? Or the lack of world government? Or misperception?
Or are people innately aggressive? How can stability (if not
peace) be achieved? Why is there
such tremendous social and economic inequality among the
different regions of the
world? Is international order incompatible with justice? …
1. Chapter 1, “Thinking About IR Theory,”
includes a new reading by Thomas Walker
on the dangers of becoming wedded to a
single paradigm or image of world politics.
2. Chapter 2, “Realism: The State and Balance
of Power,” now has an expanded discussion
of Thucydides and new sections on defensive

31. and offensive realists, nonsystemic realist
explanations, and dynamic differential theory
of great power war.
3. Chapter 3, “Liberalism: Interdependence
and Global Governance,” expands the
discussion on both the impact of global-
ization on IR theory and the literature on
deliberative global governance and has a new
article by Robert Keohane on Elinor Ostrom’s
Governing the Commons.
4. Chapter 4, “Economic Structuralism:
Global Capitalism and Postcolonialism,”
provides more in-depth coverage of Antonio
Gramsci, Robert Cox, and the postcolonialism
literature. It also includes a new reading
by Barbara Bush on the role of culture in
imperial relations.
5. Each reading features an expanded
headnote and critical-thinking questions
that provides more context for the selection
and teases out its conceptual or theoretical
import.
If you’re wondering why you should buy
this new edition of International Relations
Theory, here are fi ve good reasons!
International
Relations Theory
Fifth Edition

32. PAUL R. VIOTTI
University of Denver
MARK V. KAUPPI
Georgetown University
Longman
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33. Viotti, Paul R.
International relations theory / Paul R. Viotti, Mark V.
Kauppi.—5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-08293-3 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-205-08293-9 (alk. paper)
1. International relations. I. Kauppi, Mark V. II. Title.
JZ1305.V56 2012
327.101—dc22 2010048600
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B R I E F C O N T E N T S

34. Detailed Contents iv
Preface viii
CHAPTER 1 Thinking About IR Theory 1
PART I Images of International Relations 37
CHAPTER 2 Realism: The State and Balance of Power 39
CHAPTER 3 Liberalism: Interdependence and Global
Governance 129
CHAPTER 4 Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and
Postcolonialism 189
CHAPTER 5 The English School: International Society and
Grotian Rationalism 239
PART II Interpretive Understandings 275
CHAPTER 6 Constructivist Understandings 277
CHAPTER 7 Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern
Understandings 322
CHAPTER 8 Feminist Understandings in IR Theory 360
PART III Normative Considerations 389
CHAPTER 9 Normative IR Theory: Ethics and Morality 391
Glossary 441
Index 471

35. iii
D E T A I L E D C O N T E N T S
Brief Contents iii
Preface viii
CHAPTER 1
Thinking About IR Theory 1
The IR Field in an Age of Globalization 1
Epistemology, Methodology, and Ontology 2
What Is Theory? 4
Explanation and Prediction 5
Abstraction and Application 8
Levels of Analysis 8
Images 12
Interpretive Understandings 14
Normative Theory 16
A Look Ahead 17
Selected Readings
Thinking Theory Thoroughly /
James Rosenau 19
The Perils of Paradigm Mentalities:

36. Revisiting Kuhn, Lakatos, and Popper /
Thomas C. Walker 27
Suggestions for Further Reading 34
PART I Images of International
Relations 37
CHAPTER 2
Realism: The State and Balance
of Power 39
Major Actors and Assumptions 39
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 42
Thucydides 42
Machiavelli 45
Hobbes 47
Grotius 48
Clausewitz 49
Carr 50
Morgenthau 51
Power 52
Definitions 52
Measurement 53
System 54
Game Theory and Anarchy 55
Distribution of Capabilities and the Balance of Power 58
Change 68
Power Transition 68

37. Long Cycles 69
Globalization and Interdependence 71
Globalization 71
Interdependence and Vulnerability 71
Realists and International Cooperation 72
Realists and Their Critics 74
Realism: The Term Itself 74
The System and Determinism 75
Realists and the State 76
Realists and the Balance of Power 77
Realism and Change 78
Realism: The Entire Enterprise 79
Selected Readings
The Melian Dialogue / Thucydides 83
On Princes and the Security of Their States /
Niccolò Machiavelli 88
Of the Natural Condition of Mankind /
Thomas Hobbes 90
The State of War: Confederation as
Means to Peace in Europe / Jean-Jacques
Rousseau 93
iv
Detailed Contents v

38. Explaining War: The Levels of Analysis /
Kenneth N. Waltz 96
Hard and Soft Power in American Foreign
Policy / Joseph S. Nye, Jr. 109
Suggestions for Further Reading 117
CHAPTER 3
Liberalism: Interdependence
and Global Governance 129
Major Actors and Assumptions 129
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 131
Stoicism 132
Liberalism—Classical and Social Variants 132
Immanuel Kant 134
Richard Cobden 135
Joseph Schumpeter 135
Interest-Group Liberalism 135
Integration 137
Transnationalism 142
Interdependence 144
International Regimes 144
Neoliberal Institutionalism 147
Global Governance 149
Green Politics and the Environment 150
Economic Interdependence and Peace 152

39. The Democratic Peace 154
Decision Making 156
Change and Globalization 160
Liberals and Their Critics 161
Anarchy 161
Theory Building 162
The Democratic Peace 163
Voluntarism 163
Selected Readings
Producing Security / Stephen G. Brooks 167
Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons/
Robert O. Keohane 176
Suggestions for Further Reading 180
CHAPTER 4
Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism
and Postcolonialism 189
Major Actors and Assumptions 189
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 193
Karl Marx 193
Hobson and Imperialism 195
Lenin 196
Luxemburg and Revolution vs. Reform 197
Antonio Gramsci 198
Dependency Theorists 199

40. ECLA and UNCTAD Arguments 199
Radical Critiques 200
Domestic Forces 202
The Capitalist World-System 203
System 204
Political, Economic, and Social Factors 206
Change and Globalization 207
Postcolonialism 209
Economic Structuralists and Their Critics 213
The Question of Causality 213
Reliance on Economics 213
System Dominance 213
Theoretical Rigidity 214
Accounting for Anomalies 214
Defining Alternatives and Science as Ideology 215
Responses 215
Selected Readings
The Economic Taproot of Imperialism /
J. A. Hobson 219
Culture and Imperialism /
Barbara Bush 222
The Modern World-System as a Capitalist
World-Economy / Immanuel Wallerstein 227
Suggestions for Further Reading 233
CHAPTER 5
The English School: International Society

41. and Grotian Rationalism 239
Major Actors and Assumptions 239
vi Detailed Contents
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 241
Grotius 241
Kant 242
Carr 242
The Divergence of British and American
Scholarship 243
The Genesis of the English School 244
Levels of Analysis and Theory 246
Change 246
From System to International Society 246
From International Society to World Society 247
The English School, Liberals, and Social
Constructivists 249
The English School and Its Critics 250
Methodological Muddle 250
Historical Knowledge 250
Political Economy, the Environment, and Gender 250
Conceptual and Philosophical Eclecticism 251
Selected Readings
The Law of Nations on War, Peace and

42. Freedom of the Seas / Hugo Grotius 254
Inventing International Society /
Tim Dunne 260
Does Order Exist in World Politics? /
Hedley Bull 267
Suggestions for Further Reading 270
PART II Interpretive
Understandings 275
CHAPTER 6
Constructivist Understandings 277
Major Actors and Assumptions 278
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 279
Kant 279
Locke 280
Durkheim 281
Weber 281
Intersubjectivity 281
Structure, Rules, and Norms 284
Rules 285
Norms 286
Agents 287
Identity 287
Logic of Appropriateness 289

43. Interests 290
The Diversity of Social Constructivist Thought 291
Schools of Thought 291
Levels of Analysis 292
Wendt’s “Naturalist” Constructivism 293
Constructivist Affinities in the
Broader IR Field 297
Constructivists and Their Critics 297
Liberal and Realist Critiques 297
Debates within Constructivism and Postmodern
Challenges 298
Selected Readings
Constructing International Politics /
Alexander Wendt 302
Constructing Norms of Humanitarian
Intervention / Martha Finnemore 309
Suggestions for Further Reading 316
CHAPTER 7
Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern
Understandings 322
Positivism 323
Intellectual Precursors: Phenomenology
and Hermeneutics 328
Critical Theory: Major Assumptions 331

44. Postmodernism: Major Assumptions 333
Critical Theorists, Postmodernists,
and Their Critics 335
Summation 337
Selected Readings
Critical Explorations and the Highway
of Critical Security Theory / Ken Booth 339
Writing Security / David Campbell 348
Suggestions for Further Reading 355
Detailed Contents vii
CHAPTER 8
Feminist Understandings in IR Theory 360
Intellectual Precursors and Influences 360
Major Assumptions 362
Strands of Feminism in IR 364
Gender, War, and Security Studies 365
Gender and International Organizations 367
Gendered Understandings and IR Theory 368
Feminists and Their Critics 369

45. What Critics? 369
Research Program and Cumulative Knowledge 369
Selected Readings
The Logic of Masculinist Protection:
Reflections on the Current Security State /
Iris Marion Young 371
Why Women Can’t Rule the World:
International Politics According to Francis
Fukuyama / J. Ann Tickner 380
Suggestions for Further Reading 386
PART III Normative
Considerations 389
CHAPTER 9
Normative IR Theory: Ethics
and Morality 391
Norms, Ethics, and Morality 391
Normative Theory: Alternative Perspectives 392
The Levels of Analysis 392
Moral Relativism 393
Secular Bases for Moral or Ethical Choice 393
Justice and War 397
Applying Just War Theory in the Twenty-First
Century 399
Morality and Weaponry 400
Justice and Human Rights 402
The Enlightenment 402

46. Current Application 403
Humanitarian Treatment and the
Sovereign State 403
Armed Intervention and State
Sovereignty 405
Intervention and Civil Wars 406
Criteria for Humanitarian Intervention 407
Alternative Images and Foreign Policy
Choice 410
Rationality and Foreign Policy Choice 411
Values, Choices, and Theory 412
Selected Readings
Morality, Politics, and Perpetual Peace /
Immanuel Kant 415
The Nature of Politics / E. H. Carr 421
The Law of Peoples / John Rawls 425
On War and Peace—The Nobel Peace
Prize Speech / Barack Obama 430
Suggestions for Further Reading 436
Glossary 441
Index 471

47. P R E F A C E
T he idea for International Relations Theory resulted from a
conversation between the authors in 1982 as they strolled
through the grounds of Schloss Solitud , located just outside
Stuttgart, Germany. The topic of discussion was
the perennial problem of presenting in a relatively coherent
manner a significant
portion of the vast literature that comprises the field of
international relations
theory. After several years of classroom experimentation and
numerous other con-
versations, the result was the first edition of this volume,
published in 1987; with
subsequent editions in 1993 and 1999; and, after a decade-long
intermission, the
fourth edition in 2010. Informed by feedback from former
students, colleagues, and
reviewers in North America, Europe, East Asia, and elsewhere,
this fifth edition
continues to take account of changes in the world and maj or
developments within
the field that have occurred over the past quarter century.
International relations theorists try to make the world and
human interactions
within it more intelligible. They try to unpack the complexities
that surround our
subjective and intersubjective understandings of global politics.
And they disagree
substantially in these efforts. It is a field so torn by
controversies that the casual ob-
server may wonder if these IR theorists are writing about the
same world. At times,
IR theorists sound collectively like a cacophony of voices,
discordant and anything

48. but harmonious. On the other hand, we reflect that this out-of-
tune sound is also a
mark of a field in ferment, decidedly not moribund and
potentially very productive
of theories and understandings that may improve our grasp of
how the world works.
Theorists have observed the end of the Cold War, increasing
globalization, the
prevalence of state and non-state conflict, and global economic
crises. As in the previ-
ous editions, we’ve taken the time needed to reflect on and
assess both the impact of
these substantial developments as well as the increased
diversity in thought within the
images and interpretive understandings we identify.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
In this edition, we have added the following:
j A new reading in Chapter 1 by Thomas Walker on the
dangers of students in
IR becoming wedded to a single paradigm or image of world
politics. We also
update and expand coverage in Chapter 1 to set the stage for
subsequent chap-
ters on all the diverse perspectives—the theoretical approaches
now prevalent in
the IR field—realism, liberalism, economic structuralism,
English School, con-
structivism, postmodernism, critical theory, feminism, and
normative theory.
j In Chapter 2 an expanded discussion of Thucydides and
new sections
on defensive and offensive realists, nonsystemic realist

49. explanations, and
dynamic differential theory of great power war.
viii
Preface ix
j Expanded discussion in Chapter 3 on both the impact of
globalization on IR
theory and the literature on deliberative global governance—
adding as well a
new article by Robert Keohane on Elinor Ostrom’s Governing
the Commons.
j Broader coverage in Chapter 4 on economic structuralism
with an expanded dis-
cussion on Antonio Gramsci, Robert Cox, and the
postcolonialism literature. We
also add a new reading by Barbara Bush on the role of culture in
imperial relations.
j Identification, beginning with constructivism in Chapter 6
, of interpretive
under standings (constructivism, postmodernism, critical theory,
feminism) as
another overarching conceptual category that gives meaning to
the approaches
and theories they contain.
j Updated coverage of normative theory in Chapter 9 as a
value-oriented category
of theoretical inquiry not only on warfare, human rights, and
other ethical chal-
lenges facing policymakers, but also on how values relate to the

50. images and inter-
pretive understandings that influence scholarly work by
theorists in the IR field.
j Greater detail in the newly revised précis—the expanded
headnotes before
each selected reading in this edition that couple an overview
with critical
thinking questions of conceptual or theoretical import to think
about while
reading each article.
FEATURES
This volume (1) discusses and illustrates what is meant by
theory and why theoriz-
ing about IR is important; (2) analyzes and assesses the
underlying assumptions
and orientations that influence scholarly work in the IR field—
images that we label
realism, liberalism, economic structuralism, and the English
School and interpretive
understandings found in social constructivism, critical theory,
postmodernism, and
feminism ; (3) provides an overview of normative theory —
what ought to be done,
how actors should conduct themselves; (4) offers in the
chapters and readings rep-
resentative samples of theoretical works; (5) introduces the
reader to key concepts
used in the IR field (some indicated in boldface type)—hence,
an extensive glossary;
(6) encourages the reader to assess both historical and
contemporary conceptual
and theoretical works in the IR field; and (7) raises questions
that lead us to scru-
tinize critically diverse theoretical claims made in these works.

51. Indeed, if we are better equipped to analyze everyday events
from a conceptual
or theoretical perspective; to ask the right questions; to
recognize underlying assump-
tions in written works or public pronouncements by academics,
government officials,
journalists, and other commentators, this would transcend any
supposed achieve-
ment made simply by memorizing which author is associated
with what theory.
Keys to Navigating the IR Field
When dealing with the four images and four interpretive
understandings we have
identified, we hasten to underscore that these are not airtight,
mutually exclusive
categories of thought. As we maintained in earlier editions of
this book, they are best
understood more as pure or ideal types—general ways of
thinking about IR that can
serve as benchmarks that delineate major currents in the IR
field. Indeed, the works
x Preface
of particular scholars (and the scholars themselves) oftentimes
blend or cross from
one image or interpretive understanding to another.
Nevertheless, these categories
of thought presented in this volume do help us organize and
thus make better sense
of what remains a deeply divided field of inquiry—one made
even more difficult to

52. navigate by the “laundry” lists of “isms” found in many IR
theory books.
Images
Images that attempt a comprehensive, overarching view of the
field are the subject
matter in Part One, with separate chapters on (1) realism (with
new developments in
structural or neorealism) in Chapter 2 , (2) liberalism
(adding global governance found
in rational or neoliberal institutionalism) in Chapter 3 , (3)
economic structuralism
(with postcolonialism integrated with earlier discussions of
world-system theory and
dependency) in Chapter 4 , and (4) the English School (with
discussion of the Grotian
roots of international society and prospects for a Kantian world
society) in Chapter 5 .
Interpretive Understandings
The other “isms” that now dominate the field do not pretend to
provide so over-
arching, comprehensive a view of international relations or
world politics as these
four images do. Instead, their focus is on the interpretive or
subjective and inter-
subjective understandings we and others as human beings hold
about the world in
which we are immersed. Social constructivists in Chapter 6
and critical theorists
and postmodernists in Chapter 7 pose a substantial
challenge to positivists wedded
to scientific modes of inquiry. So do some feminists discussed
in Chapter 8 .
In Chapter 7 we also examine how the first three of the four

53. interpretive under-
standings (constructivism, critical theory, and postmodernism)
owe so much to the
work of Max Weber on Verstehen or interpretive
understanding and, more broadly,
to phenomenology—a philosophical inquiry into human
consciousness or the work-
ings of the mind that affect our interpretations of the
phenomena we observe. For its
part, feminism, and its focus on gender as an interpretive lens,
has a longer, also very
rich history influenced by, but separate (for the most part) from,
these philosophical
or phenomenological currents. Nevertheless, we group these
four modes of think-
ing into one broad category in Part Two—interpretive
understandings—precisely
because each is sensitive to the importance of interpretation, the
subjective and
intersubjective dimensions in and among human beings, the
actions they take, and
interactions among them that our theorizing takes into account.
Normative Considerations
The final part of this volume takes up in Chapter 9 the
philosophical underpinnings
of the IR field found in political theory. Normative theory
connects moral or ethical
obligation to the challenges that confront policymakers.
Conceptual understand-
ings and values in political theory also underlie both the images
and interpretive
understandings we identify. On images, we see values or norms
in the exercise of
power and the search for order in realism, the multilateral or
institutional remedies

54. for global problems in liberalism, the exploitative class or
interstate relations in
Preface xi
economic structuralism, and the search for “Grotian” rules and
“Kantian” norms
in international or world society in the English School.
Political theory also informs the interpretive understandings
scholars take to
IR whether (1) they identify international norms as ideational
structures, as social
constructivists are prone to do; (2) frame the critique offered by
critical theorists
looking for underlying power or other motives in ideologies
masquerading as if
they were scientifically grounded theories; (3) point us to the
value-laden mean-
ings in the concepts and theoretical claims IR scholars make
when we deconstruct
their work, as postmodernists do; or (4) find, as feminists are
prone to identify, the
gender-related values present not only in everyday life, but also
in IR theories that
frequently purport to be value neutral.
Though deeply divided, when viewed as a whole, the IR field is
intellectually
very vibrant. Journals and recently published books have been
filled with important
new theoretical work as well as challenges to already
established understandings
and responses from their defenders. Given understandable

55. constraints on the length
of this volume, it is impossible to cover every topic as
extensively as we might like,
much less reprint every article suggested by colleagues,
students, and reviewers.
Nevertheless, we hope that this book remains a useful starting
point and reference
in helping readers not only to understand current trends in a
still very dynamic field,
but also to gain an appreciation for the extent to which current
theoretical work
and debates rest so heavily upon the rich conceptual foundation
of earlier years and
across the millennia.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the review and critique of earlier
drafts of the manu-
script for this edition by Carina Solmirano, University of
Denver, who also combed
the literature extensively to find representative titles we have
included in the lists
of Suggested Readings that append each chapter. Paul R. Viotti,
Jr., then at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, and now at California
State University, Chico,
contributed to our discussion of interpretive understandings and
recommended
readings. As always, we thank both Emily and Natalie Kauppi
for their willingness
to contribute valuable time and skills to improve the quality of
the final manuscript.

59. Reviewers who went through the manuscript line by line and
offered most helpful
suggestions on this and the fourth edition include Andrew
Cortell, Lewis and Clark
Preface xiii
College; Zaryab Iqbal, Penn State University; Lee Metcalf,
Florida State University;
and Celine Jaquemin, St. Mary’s University. Finally, we are
grateful for substantial
discussions with our editors at Pearson Longman—Vikram
Mukhija and, earlier,
Eric Stano. We also appreciate early inputs from Jack Donnelly,
University of
Denver, and Joyce Kaufman, Whittier College.
Paul R. Viotti,
University of Denver, Josef Korbel School of International
Studies
Mark V. Kauppi,
Georgetown University
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1
CHAPTER
Thinking About

60. IR Theory
W hy do wars occur? Is nationalism the primary cause? Or
ideology? Or the lack of world government? Or misperception?
Or are people innately aggressive? How can stability (if not
peace) be achieved? Why is there
such tremendous social and economic inequality among the
different regions of the
world? Is international order incompatible with justice? …