Discourse of Anarchy in the Theory of International Relations

Abstract

This article discusses the development of the anarchy discourse in international relations theory. It questions the main problematiques around which the discourse of anarchy is organised and asks whether anarchy is still a valid concept to understand international relations. The mainstream IR theory analyses anarchy from an institutional framework, and is based on the assumption that state relations is sufficient to describe and understand anarchy.

Keywords

Anarchy, Realism and Neorealism, Postmodernism, Postcolonialism, Historical Sociology, Marxism.

Citation

Yalvaç, Faruk, “Discourse of Anarchy in the Theory of International Relations”, International Relations, Volume 8, Issue 29 (Spring 2011), pp. 71-99.

Affiliations

• Faruk Yalvaç, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Middle East Technical University, Department of International Relations