What do we study in international relations? How do we study it? And how do we apply it? Using these guiding questions as a framework,International Relationsshows students how to think critically about issues in world politics. In each chapter, a brief opening case is followed by a description of key developments, an explanation of the main theoretical approaches used to analyze them, and applications of those theories in individual, state, and global contexts. The authors provide extensive historical information throughout, giving students a holistic frame of reference from which to understand current events. FEATURES: *A consistent analytical frameworkorganized around three questions encourages critical thinking *Three full chapters on theory--realism (Ch. 2), liberalism (Ch. 3), and constructivist and other modern approaches (Ch. 4)--along with coverage of relevant theories and levels of analysis in each chapter introduce students to a broad spectrum of approaches * Two chapters giveunique emphasis to cultural and identity factors(Ch. 8) andpredictions for the future(Ch. 12) *"Visual Review" summariesenable students to visualize how all the material fits together * Concluding"Past, Present, and Future"sections apply each chapter's material to both classic and contemporary challenges *"Debate" boxesfocus on controversial questions and issues and ask students to consider their own views *"Case in Point" featuresprovide in-depth examinations of current or historical events and includecritical-thinking questionsthat ask students to think deeply about these events *An Instructor's Resource Manual, a Computerized Test Bank, Videos, and a Companion Website www.oup.com/us/shiraevprovide additional resources for students and instructors