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Social Sciences and History / Unit 9   SSH 0838 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Critical

Captions available

The idea

Realism puts states at the center, pursuing security; order requires a balance of power. Liberalism sees states cooperating through institutions for collective security. Constructivism reads the system as made by states' self-perception and norms. Critical theories, feminist and Marxist, bring in the underrepresented.

In practice

The security dilemma: defense read as aggression.

Where people slip

Unipolar, bipolar, multipolar count the great powers.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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