Lesson 1: Major Traditions in Political and International Theory
Major traditions in political theory and international-relations theory. Emphasis on canonical texts and standard scholarly interpretations rather than partisan application.
Selected traditions
Classical and early-modern — Plato, Aristotle (politics as the master science of the good life); Machiavelli (The Prince, Discourses); social-contract theories (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau).
Liberal traditions — Individual rights, limited government, markets and constitutionalism (Locke, Montesquieu, Mill, and later liberal-democratic theory).
Marxist and critical traditions — Class, historical materialism, critique of capitalism and the state (Marx, Engels, and subsequent schools).
Realism in international relations — Power, anarchy, security (Thucydides as classic reference; modern formulations by Carr, Morgenthau, Waltz).
Liberal and institutional IR — Interdependence, institutions, democratic peace (Keohane, Nye, and related work).
Constructivism — Ideational and social factors in world politics (Wendt and subsequent literature).
Non-Western and comparative political thought — Chinese traditions (Confucian, Legalist), Indian political literature (Arthashastra and later), Islamic political thought, and modern anti-colonial and postcolonial theory. These are studied both in their own terms and in comparative perspective.
Serious study requires reading primary texts alongside secondary literature that situates them historically and examines their internal arguments.
Selected references
Standard editions of Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx.
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War.
Waltz, Kenneth. Theory of International Politics; Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations.
Wendt, Alexander. “Anarchy is what states make of it” and related constructivist work.
Comparative political-theory readers and specialised studies of Confucian, Islamic and Indian political thought.
📝 Quiz
1. Realist approaches in IR characteristically emphasise: