Original citation

particularly important in this respect, as it introduces you to the main idea 
behind the English School of IR – international society.
In Part 3 we ‘go theoretical’ by examining other key IR theories in more 
depth. Here we point out, among other things, that theories have practical 
applications and should not be indulged in for their own sake. Chapter 

---

11 Introduction to international relations
4
5 looks at two mainstream approaches to the subject: Liberalism and 
Realism. Chapter 6 examines several alternative theories in the IR toolbox. 
These highlight different aspects of IR than their orthodox counterparts, 
often with the goal of unmasking people, units, processes or structures 
that orthodox theories tend to ignore. 
In Part 4, we look at some of the key concepts around which IR debates 
still revolve: war, peace, the state and power. These are central to the 
study of IR, and are all too often presented as highly abstract. We will try 
to show why IR needs these concepts, and how they can be used to make 
sense of the real world. 
Part 5 will conclude by examining three of the key challenges facing 
the world: new security threats facing international society, the role 
of international organisations in global governance, and the changing 
distribution of power and influence between the West and the East. The 
final chapter will conclude by looking at three interrelated questions:
1. Is the USA in decline after having enjoyed unrivalled dominance since 
the collapse of the USSR?
2. Are there other great powers out there – most obviously China – willing, 
and able, to replace the USA at the head of the international table?
3. Does the increasing influence of emerging powers indicate a more 
general decline of the West and the rise of what is loosely called the 
‘East’? 
These have been much talked about since the beginning of the new 
millennium. If analyses of the eastward shift are accurate – as many 
seem to believe – it represents a massive change in world politics. If, on 
the other hand, the decline of the West, or the rise of the East, has been 
overstated, our world will see power and decision making remain in the 
hands of the same combination of largely Western states that have sat at 
the centre of international society for the past 500 years. Your job at the 
end of the course will be to assess these arguments both on their empirical 
merits and by examining the theoretical assumptions on which they rest.