INTR101: Foundations &

Challenges - Seminar:
Intro to IR
DR CHRIS BAKER-BEALL
CHRISTOPHER.BAKERBEALL@NTU.AC.UK
Questions:
 1. What have been the main theoretical perspectives used to study IR
during the twentieth century?
 2. What does the Ebola crisis tell us about International Relations?
 3. How has the study of IR been linked to changes in international
relations in the ‘real’ world?
 4. What does this event tell us about International Relations?
1. What have been the main theoretical
perspectives in 20c IR?

 Traditional versus critical approaches

 Traditional = realism, liberalism, structuralism, and conventional
constructivism
 Critical = critical constructivism, postmodernism, poststructuralism,
feminism and Critical Theory
 We can use different theories to make different arguments about key
issues in world politics = Iraq (2003)
2. What does the Ebola crisis tell us about
International Relations?
2. What does the Ebola crisis tell us about
International Relations?
 Watch this video clip…
 What does it tell us about International Relations?
 How does realism deal with this problem?
 The sums spent… UN requests £1billion
 International Response / The UN = Liberal Approach?
 Globalisation and interconnectedness???
 New Security Threats?
 Critical approaches = Is the threat over-emphasised?
3. How has IR been linked to changes in
the real world?
 Linked to the great debates…
 1st Great Debate…
 1920s-30s = idealism to realism = failure of L.O.N and WWII
 2nd Great Debate…
 Making IR a science = behavioural revolution
 1950s-60s = realism = Cold War
3. How has IR been linked to changes in
the real world?
 3rd Great Debate
 1970s-80s = neo-realism / nuclear proliferation
 1970s-80s = neo-liberal institutions / complex interdependence =
economic interdependence
 4th Great Debate
 1990s = critical approaches = identity politics = ‘new wars’ /
ethnic conflict
 2000-10s = critical approaches = war on terror
4. What does this event tell us about
International Relations?
4. What does this event tell us about
International Relations?
 What is the event?
 Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong
 What does it tell us about IR?
 The power of large states
 Sovereignty (Internal – use of force)
 Militarised police?
 The spread of liberal ideas / democracy?
 Western voter apathy