The study of international relations uses perspectives and levels of analysis to help us describe, explain, and predict world events. Both perspectives and levels of analysis offer ways of describing the causes of an event, and much of the disagreement over theory and policy-making arises because we are unable to agree on what causes an event to occur.

There are three “mainstream” perspectives: realist, liberal, and identity. Each focuses on a different factor as the cause of world events; the realist perspective focuses on power, the liberal perspective on interactions and institutions, and the identity perspective on ideas. A fourth perspective is called critical theory and, unlike the other perspectives, it challenges the idea that we can explain world events apart from the historical and social context in which they take place.

Scholars of international relations also use levels of analysis to determine where the causes of an event originate. The three basic levels of analysis are the individual level (which examines the characteristics of specific decision-makers), the domestic level (which examines the characteristics of specific states or of types of states), and the systemic level (which examines the characteristics of the international system). In addition, there are more complex levels of analysis: the systemic level is divided into the level of structure (or the position of states in relation to each other) and process (or the interactions among states over time), and the foreign policy level (found between the domestic and systemic-process levels) focuses on the internal and external pressures that shape foreign policy-making.

Students will also be introducted to the methods of study for international relations.  The rationalist approach focuses on variables that can be studied objectively.  The constructivist approach argues that not all facts or events can be studied objectively.  Instead, researchers must take variables such as culture, language, and beliefs into consideration. 

Finally, we view international relations through the window of our moral philosophy. Although ethics and morality are complex and nuanced, we can divide them into three categories. Relativists believe that all truth is relative and that no universal moral standards exist. Universalists argue that some moral principles apply to all people at all times. Pragmatists may or may not believe in universal morality, but they feel that the practice of international affairs demands a practical approach to ethical issues.