Understanding International Relations, Third Edition

particular way of looking at the world – especially since that way is likely to
be that of the advanced industrial countries, the rich and powerful West.
Conclusion
The aim of this chapter has been to discourage the notion that the theory of
International Relations can be studied via an initial stipulative definition,
the implications of which are then teased out and examined at length.
Instead, the process is, or should be, almost exactly the other way around.
What is required is that we explore the world of international relations
from a number of different perspectives, taking each one seriously while we
are examining it, but refusing to allow any one account to structure the
whole, denying a privileged position to any one theory or set of theories. If,
at the end of the day, we are still interested in definitions, we will then be in
a position to construct one, and in so doing identify ourselves with a par-
ticular theory or paradigm. Perhaps instead, we will find that this kind of
identification does not help, and we will resist the tendency to enrol in any