All approaches to the analysis of international and global processes are embedded within theoretical frameworks. This landmark new book provides students with a sophisticated exploration of the challenging and complex field of international relations theory. Focusing both on its historical roots and contemporary strands, Colin Wight gives an engaged account of a broad range of theoretical positions and introduces fresh approaches to international relations theory - presenting the idea of a meaningful dialogue between traditions as a counter to fragmentation and the tendency towards intra-theoretical debates. SAGE Series on the Foundations of International Relations: Series Editors: Walter Carlsnaes Uppsala University, Sweden Jeffrey T. Checkel University of Oslo, Norway International Advisory Board: Peter J. Katzenstein Cornell University, USA; Emanuel Adler University of Toronto, Canada; Martha Finnemore George Washington University, USA; Andrew Hurrell Oxford University, UK; G. John Ikenberry Princeton University, USA; Beth Simmons Harvard University, USA; Steve Smith University of Exeter, UK; Michael Zuern Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany. This series fills the gap between narrowly-focused research monographs and broad introductory texts, providing graduate students with state-of-the-art, critical overviews of the key sub-fields within International Relations: International Political Economy, International Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organization, Normative IR Theory, International Environmental Politics, Globalization, and IR Theory. Explicitly designed to further the transatlantic dialogue fostered by publications such as the SAGE Handbook of International Relations, the series is written by renowned scholars drawn from North America, continental Europe and the UK. The books are intended as core texts on advanced courses in IR, taking students beyond the basics and into the heart of the debates within each field, encouraging an independent, critical approach and signposting further avenues of research.