This concise and accessible text provides a balanced introduction to international relations theory, recognizing that theories are the framework students use to understand the world around them. When exploring a topic or event in world politics, such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, or international trade, students must ask what they are trying to gain from the discussion. Through an examination of realism, liberalism, Marxism, social constructivism, feminism, and post-modernism, this text provides readers with the tools to understand the world in which they live. An invaluable resource for teaching theory to undergraduates, it brings together a wide range of perspectives--including realism, liberalism, Marxism, social constructivism, feminism, and post-modernism--in a single comprehensive and easily readable text.