International Relations. A self-Study Guide to Theory

 
New liberal theory 
Core question 
• Explanations of outcomes in international politics: 
cooperation and peace, conflict and war.
Ontological assumptions 
about actors and structure 
•
Social actors (individuals and groups of individuals) 
are the most important actors in international poli-
tics (ontological individualism). 
•
Rationality assumption 
•
States as “representative institutions”/structure 
“Agency and structure” 
•
Individuals and groups with interests ontologically 
and epistemologically prior to politics: demands of a 
“management of globalization” through the state 
•
Structures and processes in international politics as 
the result of social action (individuals, social groups, 
etc.): ontological individualism and methodological 
individualist, agency-centered explanation. 
Nature of explanation and 
causality 
•
Political outcomes in international politics (coopera-
tion, peace) can only be explained by looking “in-
side” the state, to individual societal actor’s inter-
ests: outcomes causally explained in terms of the in-
terests of domestic social actors (methodological in-
dividualism, agency-centered explanation) 
Level of analysis 
• State (sub-systemic) level and system level 
Philosophy of science 
• Positivism
Normative perspective 
Self-Study (3a) 
Theory and practice/role of 
the scientist 
Self-Study (3b) 
Review questions 
1. What is “new” in new liberal theory compared to “traditional” liberal ap-
proaches? 
2. What are the assumptions of new liberalism in regard to the relevant ac-
tors and the state? Compare to neorealist and neoinstitutionalist theory. 
3. Discuss the relevance of the “level-of-analysis problem” for new liberal 
theory. 
4. Outline causality according to the new liberal explanation. 

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Step 4: 
Final self-study and consolidation