International relations and historical overview of world politics
The course text presents several major theoretical lenses that have been used to understand world politics. Each of these lenses directs attention to different actors, problems, dynamics, causes and effects.
Each is also necessarily a simplification of reality, highlighting a part of world politics in order to describe and explain key patterns and predict behaviour and outcomes.
In this exercise, you will review these lenses and how they highlight different aspects of world politics, paying special attention to the events and explanations they emphasize.
Review the Concepts: In preparation for writing your paper, review the main features of Liberalism, Realism, Radicalism and Constructivism, using the summary tables on pages 79, 83, 92, and 94 (Mingst text) as a point of departure for the more thorough description in the text. (You do not have to write anything from this part in your paper)
Finding Patterns and Explanations: Next, review chapter 2 in the Mingst text and its historical overview of world politics.
Note that it is divided into historical periods: pre-Westphalia; Westphalia; nineteenth-century Europe; Interwar and World War II; The Cold War; the Immediate Post–Cold War Era; The New Millennium.
For the first part of the written assignment, identify the key actors, events and dynamics that you believe each theoretical lens would highlight for each of these historical periods.
Note that the grid below is a template and you should enlarge the boxes to fit a larger amount of text in your submission (2-3 pages)
Historical Period Realism Liberalism Radicalism Constructivism
Westphalia
19th Century Europe
Interwar and WWII
Cold War
Immediate Post-Cold War
The New Millennium
Conclusions and Implications: Referring back to your completed grid, answer the following questions. You should justify and defend your answers and refer to several actual historical or current events in international politics. (2-3 pages, 1.5 spaced, 12 pt. font)
What behaviour does each theory explain best?
What behaviour does each theory miss?
Is there a “best” theory? Why or why not?
What conclusions can you draw about IR theory as it helps us to understand world politics?
