Skip to content

    International Relations Theory

    whole starwhole starwhole starwhole starwhole star

    Reviewed by Jaroslav Tir, Professor, CU Boulder on 7/1/19

    Comprehensiveness rating: 5

    Yes, it is definitely comprehensive. Maybe a bit too comprehensive, with some of the theories being from really far afield. It will be up to the instructor to guide the students in understanding which theories are the mainstream ones, which are the key challengers, and which ones are more of curiosities rather than leaders in IR scholarship. Spelling this out in the intro would be helpful to the uninitiated readers, so that they are not lost in the sea of theories presented.

    Content Accuracy rating: 4

    The content is unbiased for the most part.

    Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

    Yes, this is something that can definitely be built on, which could be done easily.

    Clarity rating: 5

    Yes, no issues here.

    Consistency rating: 4

    Pretty much. There are a lot of different chapter writers, so some inconsistency is to be expected. This will be more of an issue for IR beginners than experienced readers used to various IR terminologies.

    Modularity rating: 5

    This is one of the strongest assets of this book. An instructor can definitely and easily pick and choose among the many theoretical options provided.

    Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

    Yes. This is basically a list of various IR theories, with the mainstream ones being up front and the others following. Such organization makes good sense.

    Interface rating: 5

    No such issues were noticed.

    Grammatical Errors rating: 5

    Maybe a few here and there, but nothing of major concern.

    Cultural Relevance rating: 5

    The book does well on this score.

    Back