Resources in all formats that support teaching, research, and learning in the field of international relations are located primarily in or accessible online from the Library for International and Public Affairs. The library collects in the major areas of emphasis of the discipline, including but not limited to, general theory and methodology of international relations, international political economy, international security studies, foreign policy analysis, terrorism and counter-terrorism, state-society relations, comparative politics, public diplomacy, and regional studies.
Additional emphasis is given to collecting materials related to issues of globalization, foreign aid, non-governmental organizations [in support of the international documents collection], global disaster management, sustainable development, peace and conflict studies, all aspects of international human rights law [in collaboration with the Law Library ], and economic development in emerging economies.
Acquisition of materials related to international finance, global commodities trading, and the global labor market are collected in collaboration with the Business Library. Materials are acquired in three ways: standing orders of books from specific publishers and in designated subject areas under the GOBI vendor profile, individually purchased titles [firm orders] from GOBI and other vendors, and gifts.
The more specific Marxist international relations theories reject realism and liberalism by arguing that the economy should be the primary focus of analysis.
Note that realism and liberalism are politics-centric theories of international relations. Nonetheless, Marxism as it applies in international relations, specifically argues that the instability in the international system results from the different facets of class struggle such as the problems due to capitalism, exploitation of resources by the few, uneven distribution of wealth, and the institutionalization of inequality and injustice.
Central to its argument is the rejection of realism through the promotion of an idea that global integration or globalization is a process arising from the realization of the common interests of states. This global integration creates a system with functions that are more important than the functions of individual actors. The English School is another contemporary theory of international relations that attempts to provide a lens for analysis by combining the principles of realism and liberalism.
The theory intends to answer the following question: How to understand international relations by incorporating the cooperative aspect of liberalism into the realist conception of the conflicted nature of the international system?
Central to the argument of the English School is that there are three distinct spheres at work in international politics. These are the international system that is characterized by the power politics among state actors, the international society characterized by the institutionalization of shared interest and identity amongst states, and the world society characterized by the creation of global societal identities and arrangements based on the participation of individuals, non-state organizations, and ultimately the global population as a whole.
Feminism in international relations theory is a broad term referring to different concepts and models patterned after a particular theory in feminism to analyze the international system and corresponding relationships. Feminist international relations theory argues that the concepts of power, dominion, and security stemming from other international relations theories are gender-biased. It also argues for the need to understand the role of women or the impact of gender dynamics in shaping the international system.
Other arguments include looking how the concept of masculinity shaped foreign policy and diplomatic relations, considering women as a group of actors in the international system, and the use of the concept of femininity in handling conflicts.
Green Theory focuses on international environmental cooperation. International relations theories can help us understand the way the international systems work, as well as how nations engage with each other and view the world.
Varying from liberal, equality-centric strategies to straightforward realist concepts, international relations theories are often used by diplomats and international relations experts to dictate the direction that a government may take in regards to an international political issue or concern.
By studying the following key international theories, professionals in the field can better discern the motivations and goals driving policy decisions worldwide. Realism is a straightforward approach to international relations, stating that all nations are working to increase their own power, and those countries that manage to horde power most efficiently will thrive, as they can easily eclipse the achievements of less powerful nations.
The nature of realism implies that seeking a moral high ground is a goal that governments cannot always achieve and that deceit and violence can be highly effective tools for advancing national interests.
In modern times, realism is evident in the foreign policies of China and Russia. Liberalists believe that the negative consequences of force—such as economic losses and civilian casualties—far exceed its potential benefits.
Therefore, liberal politicians generally prefer the use of economic and social power in achieving their national goals for instance, obtaining the agreement of a neighboring country to help secure a border. As liberalism has become more rooted in international cooperation through the establishment of organizations like the United Nations, realism has started to wane as a viable political strategy.
It can be argued that the liberalist tradition, perpetuated by the United States, has become the dominant system in international relations, with established values and international institutions in place to regulate this order. For example, since German aggression served as the primary catalyst for the Second World War, Germany deploys its armed forces outside of German borders only when its government is certain of the need to intervene in instances of genocide or conflict that threatens to spill over into other nations.
Constructivists also argue that states are not the most important actors in international relations, but that international institutions and other non-state actors are valuable in influencing behavior through lobbying and acts of persuasion. For this reason, constructivism has become a popular and important theory in recent decades as non-state actors like international organizations such as Amnesty International, OXFAM, and Greenpeace gain political influence.
International organizations play a role in promoting human rights and making them an international standard to which countries are expected to conform.
Karl Marx was a Prussian philosopher and economist whose works posited that societies could escape the self-destructive nature of capitalist socioeconomic systems by implementing socialist theory into their policies, both locally and abroad. Marxism, a theory that closely analyzes social classes, aims to dismantle the capitalist structure of the international system, as it states that capitalism is no longer practically sustainable in the modern world.
Marx believed that private property should be replaced by cooperative ownership, with the emphasis placed entirely on satisfying human needs for consumption, rather than creating private profit.
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