Chapter 2 Review questions

  1. Three sources of IR thinking are listed in Figure 2.1. Discuss their relative importance. What matters most to your own thinking?
  2. Realists point to anarchy and the balance of power in explaining the First World War. Liberals point to misperception and egoism by autocratic leaders. Discuss.
  3. Will a world of liberal democracies be a peaceful world?
  4. Explain briefly what behaviouralist science is about.
  5. What divides neoliberals and neorealists? Who wins the debate between them?
  6. What is the difference between an international society and an international system?
  7. International Society scholars claim that there are both realist and liberal elements in today's international society. What do they mean by that?
  8. What is the subject matter of IPE?
  9. What is behind the label 'post-positivist approaches'?
  10. Has IR scholarship failed to listen to voices from the Global South? Discuss.
  11. Think of ways of evaluating a theory: which criteria are the most important?
  12. Why is it increasingly important that our theories bridge the gap between international and domestic factors?
  13. What are the theoretical costs of integrating international and domestic factors into a common explanatory framework?
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