Thinking Theory
A theory which places the state at the centre of analysis, emphasizing factors like military power, national interest, security, and anarchy. Focus is placed on human nature and the international system.
Realism
Coined specific notions of hegemony, often originating from a Marxist critique.
Antonio Gramsci
A process or model that states or individuals will seek to mitigate the outcomes of war or prevent it entirely.
The Bargaining Model
A precursor to the UN and was used in the aftermath of WWI to attribute responsibility to Germany and became a key example of liberal institutional ideals.
The League of Nations
Theory where institutions are vital and seen as mechanisms for ensuring order and cooperation to prevent war. Asserts that human nature is inherently good and wants to work together.
Liberal Institutionalism
The Stag Hunt and what it means for collective objectives and bargaining.
Robert Gibbons.
A situation which prompts cooperation or self-interest, a thought experiment used to argue the issues with liberal institutionalism and international cooperation. Not exclusive to political science as a discipline.
The Prisoner's Dilemma.
Theory which emphasizes norms, customs, and ideas rather than concrete expressions of power. Argues about the construction of norms in society and security threats, claiming this is intersubjective rather than purely objective.
Constructivism
Notions of power in international relations, arguing how there are different forms such as productive power and structural power.
Barnett and Duvall
Used at the end of the Thirty Years War and gave way for rulers to choose the state's involvement with religion. Referred to as the birth of conceptions of state sovereignty.
The Peace of Westphalia
Small group of representatives at a high UN level who make large decisions where few hold a decisive veto power. Indicative of the expression of power
UN Security Council
Theory which emphasizes the constructed gender hierarchy that is behind societal norms, ideas, and knowledge systems. In the IR field, this approach takes issue with how gender roles are constructed to portray certain attributes.
Critical Feminism.
Discusses sanitized abstraction and patriarchal imagery as a mechanism for defence intellectuals to create gendered, exclusive spaces.
Carol Cohn.
Unipolarity vs Bipolarity.
Emphasizes the impact of colonial and imperialism that shaped and continue to shape the relationships present in the international sphere. Argues that global institutions and assumptions are westernized and imperial.
Decolonial/Postcolonial
Discusses the emergence of different nationalisms and imagined communities at different points in history to highlight how returns to empire are potent in international politics and the functioning of the nation.
Anderson
Increased cooperation between countries militarily and economically can prevent war and alter the way the international system functions.
Interdependence Theory
Case study that reflects the reality in which acts of sexual violence became more integrated into mainstream parts of international law and on the agendas of international organizations.