History of the discipline of International Relations

By VittoriaG
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    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.
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    Liberalism

    Human beings are rational and peace is achievable through reason.
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    Second World War

    The second global conflict showed that liberalism had been too optimistic towards human nature.
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    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.
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    Second Great Debate: Behaviourism vs Traditionalism

    Should politics and IRs be studied with an historical approach or using the scientific method?
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    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.
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    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.