Unrivalled coverage of IR theories from leading experts, including historically dominant traditions such as realism, and liberalism, to theories such as postcolonialism and green theory. Featuring a new organisation to reflect the importance and focus on global IR as well as newly authored chapters on classical realism, liberalism, Marxism, and critical theories. A wide range of case studies show readers how theory can be applied to address concrete political problems.

Key Features

• Expert line-up of contributors offer coverage of dominant and emerging theories and arguments from diverse perspectives
• Includes coverage of historically marginalised theories, including postcolonialism and environmentalism
• A case study in each chapter shows how theory can be used to explain real-world problems and dilemmas and additional questions to encourage students to analyse and evaluate the different theories for themselves
• Boxes highlighting key books or articles introduce students to prominent works in the field to encourage wider reading and research interests
• Spotlights on key books and articles encourage readers to go beyond the textbook and develop their research interests, exploring important works in the field

New to this Edition

• An enhanced ebook with author videos, self-test questions, and pointers to answering case study questions
• Newly authored chapters on classical realism, liberalism, and Marxism provide students with fresh perspectives on these theories
• Newly authored chapter on critical theories illustrates the intersectional nature of critical theories as it relates to gender, race, and decolonisation, while speaking to topical debates in the field
• The global IR chapter has been moved to the beginning of the text, which encourages students to critically reflect on the context in which IR developed and appreciate the importance of viewing international relations theories from truly representative perspectives from the very start
• Updated online resources include pointers on answering case study questions, supporting students to apply theories to real world issues

Digital Formats and Resources

International Relations Theories is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats and is supported by online resources. The eBook offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: Find the eBook on VitalSource.

The digital version, available on Politics Trove, is also accompanied by online resources. These include:

For students

• Self-test questions for every section of the chapter, to help you test your knowledge as you go
• Author videos explaining concepts or going into greater depth into a case study
• Pointers on answering the case study questions

For lecturers

• Test Bank for each chapter
• PowerPoint slides with a deck for each chapter to help build lecture materials

1: Steve Smith: Introduction: Diversity and Disciplinarity in International Relations Theory
2: Amitav Acharya: Global International Relations
3: Milja Kurki and Colin Wight: International Relations and Social Science
4: Michael C. Williams: Classical Realism
5: John J. Mearsheimer: Structural Realism
6: Knud Erik Jørgensen: Liberalism
7: Jennifer Sterling-Folker: Neoliberalism
8: Tim Dunne: The English School
9: Alexander Anievas: Marxism
10: Katarina Ku%si'c: Critical Theories
11: K. M. Fierke: Constructivism
12: Laura Sjoberg: Feminism
13: David Campbell and Roland Bleiker: Poststructuralism
14: Shampa Biswas: Postcolonialism
15: Toni Erskine: Normative International Relations Theory
16: Robyn Eckersley and Olaf Corry: International Relations, the Environment, and Green Theory
17: Colin Hay: International Relations Theory and Globalization
18: Ole Waever: Still a Discipline After All These Debates?

Tim Dunne, Provost & Senior Vice-President, University of Surrey

Milja Kurki, Professor and E.H. Carr Chair in International Politics, Aberystwyth University

Katarina Kušić, Marie Sk/lodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Viennans

Steve Smith, U.K. Government International Education Champion and Prime Minister's Special Representative to Saudi Arabia for Education

Professor Tim Dunne is Provost & Senior Vice-President at the University of Surrey.  Prior to his move to Surrey, Tim had a number of leadership roles at The University of Queensland (UQ), including Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for R2P and Executive Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.  He is recognised for his research on human rights protection and foreign policy-making in a changing world order.  He has written and co-edited fourteen books, including Terror in our Time (2012), The Globalization of International Society (2017), and a new revised edition of Diplomatic Investigations: Essays on the Theory of International Politics, edited by Herbert Butterfield and Martin Wight (2019) The Rise of the International (2023 in press.  Tim is an elected Fellow of the Academic of Social Sciences, Australia; the Queensland Academic of Arts and Sciences; and holds an Emeritus Professorship at The University of Queensland.

Professor Milja Kurki is E.H. Carr Chair in International Politics at Aberystwyth University. Her areas of interest are international relations theory, philosophy of science, democracy and democracy promotion, critical theory and more recently scientific cosmology, social-natural science nexus and multispecies politics. Her PhD was focused on the analysis of the meaning of causality in IR scholarship. She then led a major ERC project on the conceptual foundations of democracy promotion practices between 2008 and 2012, a project which involved extensive policy engagement.

Dr Katarina Kušić is a Marie-Sk/lodowska Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Vienna. Her research interests include statebuilding and peacebuilding interventions, land politics, interpretive and fieldwork-based methodologies, and post-colonial and decolonial thought. Her current work explores international political ecologies of land and human-nature relations more broadly. Her PhD and the ensuing monograph provided a conceptual critique of intervention through an ethnographic study of post-war reconstruction efforts in South East Europe. Katarina received her MA from Central European University and holds a PhD in International Politics from Aberystwyth University.

Professor Sir Steve Smith is the U.K. Government International Education Champion and Prime Minister's Special Representative to Saudi Arabia for Education. He has been Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter from 2002 to 2020. He was previously Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Professor of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as well as Head of the Department of International Politics, and Director of the Centre for Public Choice Studies at the University of East Anglia. Sir Steve is a graduate of the University of Southampton and holds a BSc in Politics and International Studies, an MSc in International Studies and a PhD in International Relations. He has written or edited 17 books, published well over 100 academic papers and has given over 170 academic presentations in 22 countries. Sir Steve was knighted in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to higher education locally and nationally.