-
Period: to
First World War
The horrors of the first global conflict made it necessary to answer one question: how can war be avoided? -
Birth of the discipline
Establishment of the first university department in Wales, Aberystwyth. -
Period: to
Liberalism
Human beings are rational and peace is achievable through reason. -
Period: to
Second World War
The second global conflict showed that liberalism had been too optimistic towards human nature. -
Period: to
First Great Debate: Liberalism vs Realism
Second establishment of the discipline.The nature of power politics should be studied as it is, and not as it should be. -
Scientific Man versus Power Politics, H. Morgenthau
Morgenthau believed that politics followed objective rules. -
Period: to
Second Great Debate: Behaviourism vs Traditionalism
Should politics and IRs be studied with an historical approach or using the scientific method? -
Period: to
Third Great Debate: Neorealism, Neoliberalism, Neomarxism
What should IRs focus on? Power politics, interdependence or global inequalities? -
Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition, R. Keohane
The economic and technological development requires new forms of international cooperation. -
Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory, R. W. Cox
The study of IRs should focus on social forces and inequalities. -
Period: to
Fourth Great Debate: Constructivism vs Rational approaches
Should IRs be studied as a scientific and objective discipline, or is it subjective? Do theories create views of the world which favour some and disadvantage others? -
Social Theory of International Politics, A. Wendt
Wendt believed that social sciences such as IRs are not objective and scientific.