After reading this chapter students should be to understand:

• Why we often disagree about issues in international affairs
• How perspectives and levels of analysis help us interpret facts
• What the main perspectives and levels of analysis are, and what causes they emphasize
• How we test explanations, using history, methods, judgment, and ethics and morality
• What are the differences between rationalist and constructivist methods
• What are the differences among relativist, universal, and pragmatic views of ethics and morality