• • • International relations theory is the study of (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It attempts to provide a upon which international relations can be analyzed.
Describes international relations theories as acting like pairs of coloured sunglasses that allow the wearer to see only salient events relevant to the theory; e.g., an adherent of may completely disregard an event that a might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. The three most prominent theories are,. Sometimes, institutionalism proposed and developed by Keohane and Nye is discussed as an paradigm differed from liberalism. International relations theories can be divided into '/' theories which focus on a principally state-level analysis, and '/' ones which incorporate expanded meanings of security, ranging from class, to gender, to postcolonial security. Many often conflicting ways of thinking exist in IR theory, including constructivism,,,, and others. However, two schools of thought are most prevalent: realism and liberalism.