INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IR 610 Political/ IR Theory
Research Questions for Assignments
Choose any THREE (3) of the following questions
1. Does order exist in world politics? Please analyze via referring to at least two IR Theories
2. Do you think that; “the realist school of thought understands and explains today’s international relations correctly, particularly after the 1990s”? If yes or no please, explain the reason why.
3. Compare and contrast world system theory with that of realist school.
4. Discuss the concept of hegemony in Gramscian perspective.
5. Compare and contrast the traditional approaches in IR with that of critical approaches in defining and analyzing the concept of world system.
6. Robert Cox argues that “theory is always for someone and some purpose”, please discuss.
7. Complex interdepdency school argues that; “the use of force has become increasingly costly for major states as a result of four conditions: risks of nuclear escalation; resistance by people in poor or weak countries; uncertain and possibly negative effects on the achievement of economic goals; and domestic opinion opposed to the human costs of the use of force”. Please discuss.
Good Luck!
