Behavioural Approach 1. Introduction The Behavioural Approach transformed the study of International Relations by emphasizing systematic observation, empirical evidence and the study of actual political behaviour. It emerged partly as a reaction against approaches that relied heavily on historical description, philosophical reasoning or normative assumptions. Behavioural scholars sought to make the study of international politics…

Systems Approach 1. Introduction The Systems Approach studies International Relations as an interconnected system in which states and other actors interact with one another and produce patterns of international behaviour. Instead of examining individual events in isolation, the systems approach asks how the broader structure of relationships influences the behaviour of individual actors and how…

Marxism and International Relations 1. Introduction Marxism provides a critical approach to International Relations that emphasizes capitalism, class relations, economic structures and material inequality. Unlike theories that treat states as the primary independent actors, Marxist approaches examine how international politics is connected to the organization of the global economy. Marxist analysis asks questions such as:…

Dependency Theory 1. Introduction Dependency Theory is a critical approach to international political economy and development that explains persistent inequality between countries through unequal economic relationships between dominant and dependent economies. It emerged particularly from Latin American intellectual debates during the mid-20th century. Dependency theorists challenged the assumption that all countries would necessarily follow the…

World-Systems Theory 1. Introduction World-Systems Theory is a macro-level approach to international political economy and global historical development associated primarily with Immanuel Wallerstein. It examines the modern world as a single historical system rather than treating individual countries as isolated units. The theory argues that the global capitalist economy is organized into interconnected structural zones,…