This is the textbook for the Open University module International Relations: Continuity and Change in Global Politics. Instead of leading with a succession of theoretical 'isms', the module structures its presentation of the subject around six teaching ‘blocks’, each of which explores a dilemma, or dimension of variation. The dilemmas in question were chosen for the way they capture key themes in the field of International Studies (IR) as well as central aspects of the ‘international’ itself (ir). The six Blocks are:
• Block 1: Co-operation or conflict? Introducing international relations
• Block 2: Flat or uneven? Change and transformation in the international system
• Block 3: Just or unjust? Intervention and inequality in the international system
• Block 4: Top-down or bottom-up? Governance in the international system
• Block 5: Secure or insecure? Pursuing security in the international system
• Block 6: Continuity or change in global politics?
Each block introduces new IR theories through discussions of the substantive dilemmas and adds in a layered way levels of analysis and conceptual complexity.