As an independent social science，The discipline of international relations aims to explain the various phenomena of interaction between the country、Results，Especially those regular phenomena，Why does the war repeatedly appear、Formation and role of international organizations、The establishment and disintegration of the alliance。It is generally considered，The core issue of the study of international relations discipline is the issue of war and peace，Because war is the ultimate of conflict，Understanding the root of the war，It is possible to lead to cooperation and peace。Answer for this question，Traditional historical research、International Law Study、Philosophy research all involved，But until after the World War I，International relations began to become a special field and special discipline。This is because of the huge casualties and damage brought by the World War，Makes all countries hope system、Scientifically understand the root of conflicts between the country and even war，As a result, it is feasible、Scientific theoretical knowledge and solution。The establishment and development of international relations theory is based on this reality。

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The object of the study of international relations discipline actually involves two levels: international results and foreign policy，This leads to two directions in its theoreticalization，That is the theory of international relations and foreign policy theory。International relations theory is a general knowledge about the field of international relations。Since the sovereign state is the main actor in the international system，and to a large extent monopolized the use of violence，Therefore, the essence of international relations theory is international political theory，Analysis of political games and political cooperation between countries，and start to understand various international politics、Economic and Social Phenomena。From the dimension of conflict and cooperation，Conflicts in various countries may occur to the extreme，Cooperation to the extreme may have integration and complete unity。The interpretation of the theory of international relations is the interaction between the country and its results，The process and results of these interactions do not depend on the strength and policy of a certain country。This means，International relations is not equal to foreign policy，The theory of international relations does not mean foreign policy theory。The development and change of international relations，More depends on some structural factors，For example, comparison of strength between different countries、The control of the international system and international organizations、Conflict and consistency of interests and policies of various countries。

Foreign policy theory generally points to why some kind of foreign policy appears。Development and change of foreign policy，Not only is it affected by various structural factors of the international system，It is also affected by the domestic situation of various countries and the power game of power during the decision -making process。Because it involves two levels，Developed a generally applicable explanatory foreign policy theory becomes very difficult。So，International relations theory is mostly the structural bet365 Play online games theory of the system level，and foreign policy analysis tend to combine the two levels of international systems and domestic politics。Of course, there are some foreign policy theories that are purely international or pure domestic levels。International relations theory and foreign policy theory all belong to the theoretical knowledge construction of international relations disciplines，Just the object of the explanation is different。

Western international relations academic circles have formed realism、Three paradigms of liberalism and constructivism，These paradigms also cover international relations theory and foreign policy theory。Chinese international relations scholars have done many meaningful theoretical construction work，formed some representative theoretical results。If you want to answer the theoretical knowledge growth point of the discipline of international relations，You must first clarify a common misunderstanding，That is, the theory of interpretation and normativeity is completely opposed，Then discuss the achievements and deficiencies of existing theoretical construction。

　　Construction of Social Science Theory: Explanation and Normalness

According to the methodology of general social sciences，The theoretical construction of the discipline of international relations needs to meet certain standards，For example, find a regular problem that needs to be explained in causal explanation，The concept used should be observed、Measted，Therefore, the causal relationship between variables can be established，and a theory should contain a causal mechanism between independent variables and cause variables。International relations scholars represented by Kennis Walz think，International relations theory is an interpretation of regular phenomena in the field of international relations，But for the same phenomenon，There can be different theoretical interpretations。If a certain theory has a strong explanation for most phenomena，So it is a good theory。but，International relations scholars generally acknowledge，There is no single theory that can be "container to the world"。In many cases，Scholars need to explain in combination with different theories，Some theories can contribute to the main factor in the interpretation framework，and other theories contribute to the secondary factor in the interpretation framework。But no matter what，Theory is used to explain the problem，The strength of the explanatory power determines the good or bad of the theory，This has become the basic criteria for evaluating various international relations。

In fact，No "pure" interpretation theory。Realism and liberalism are both theoretically based on the premise of the country's basic rationality，Social constructionism often emphasizes understanding rather than explanation。Excessive emphasis on explanatory standards，It will bring some negative effects to the theoretical development of international relations。On the one hand，Due to emphasis on the interpretation of international relations theory，The development of normative theory has not received enough attention。Some of the existing normative theories are mostly from political philosophy、The perspective of ethics，With strong idealist color，Therefore, it is not taken seriously。Actually，Normal theory should be the next stage of explanation theoretical research，That is, after an in -depth explanation of the existing international relationship issues，It should be proposed to propose targeted and operable Bet365 app download solutions，so as to make the world better。For example，For liberals，They should pay more attention to the design of the international system，What kind of system design is studying，You can mobilize the enthusiasm of different behaviors in different fields，Participate in global governance，instead of being satisfied with what general role of the international system can play。For realists，Of course, they emphasize the constraints of the interaction between the strength structure，But this is not to say that the advancement of realism cannot propose any constructive solution。Realists for offensive weapons、Study on the balance of defensive weapons and offensive and defensive balancing，It may contribute in this regard: countries are committed to defensive weapons instead of offensive weapons，Can relieve the security difficulties，Improve the safety level of the country without damage to other countries' security。Although the strength structure between the country is not artificially designed，But realism emphasizes the cost of war、Careful diplomacy，It is undoubtedly helpful to reduce the occurrence of war。

On the other hand，Foreign policy theory to construct a general explanation power is actually very difficult，It is also unnecessary。Foreign policy formulation is essentially a domestic political process，So，The emergence of a certain foreign policy，Not necessarily caused by the pressure of the international system，In most cases, it is profoundly affected by the personal factors of domestic politics and leaders。If you want to develop a foreign policy theory with universal explanation，It is necessary to integrate the international system and domestic politics factors，Become a new core concept; even if one of them can be integrated together，There are too many factors involved，The explanation of this new concept is still very limited。New Classical Realism Foreign Policy Theory made a good attempt in this regard，But still did not propose a core concept that everyone was widely accepted。For the theoretical construction of foreign policy，In fact, it is more meaningful.，What kind of foreign policy should the state take under different environmental conditions、How to determine your allies and opponents，to achieve the desired expected goal。irrational foreign policy may be affected by various complex factors，It is difficult to unify them theoreticalization。How to generate a rational foreign policy，can provide guidance for foreign policies from various countries。The theory of standardized foreign policy mentioned here is not based on universal moral principles，but based on the assumptions of a rational country、Objective reality based on the international system。

　Existing international relations theory and possible growth points

From the perspective of this body theory，Realism、Liberalism and constructivism represent the three principles of the theory of international relations。Realism emphasizes the role of material factors，Its theory is based on the strength structure as the core concept，Emphasize the role of the strength distribution between different countries for interaction between the country，Therefore, it is a severe materialism。Of course，Realism does not deny the conceptual factors may also have an important role，But what it emphasizes that material factors are more important than conceptual factors。As Robert Gilping said: "Just look at the importance of religion Bet365 lotto review in international affairs，We can understand the meaning of concepts。"Liberalism is a" moderate "materialism，The emphasis on the restriction of the international system and the domestic system's interaction between the country。Traditional liberals think，Democratic countries will not fight，Because the leader is restricted by the democratic system; the new liberals believe that，The international system can independently provide some international public items、Promoting cooperation。If the material is objective，So the system emphasized by liberalism is also an objective reality，Just "hardness" is inferior to realism。Constructivism is a mild materialism，I think conceptual factors are more important than material factors，Because in most cases，The concept gives the existing material structure in some meaning，This has shaped the interaction between the country and its results。In the theory of international relations in constructivism，National recognition、International specifications are objective and realistic things，You can observe、Cognition and understanding，Therefore, it is not completely idealistic。

Realism、Liberalism and constructivism have exhausted three dimensions of empirical research on international relations: strength、System and Concept。Although some geopolitical scholars may think，Geographical factors are more important than strength factors，or at least the same important important，But they also belong to the theory of materialism。For example，International relations expert Qin Yaqing's relationship theory, although a new element was proposed- "relational"，But this concept still belongs to the theoretical paradigm of constructivism。From this perspective，International relations theory wants to realize the "paradigm revolution"，Very difficult in the short term，Unless there is a qualitative change in the international system，If a multinational company replaces sovereignty state, the main body of the international system。Marxist international relations theory and dependence theory、World System Theory also involves the operation of the international system，But they should be included in the list of world political research，Because they are mostly macro、How to influence international political operations on the world's economic structure，Deep background of emphasizing international political operations，instead of directly explaining the theory of international relations between conflicts and cooperation between the country。Critical theory and postmodernism emphasize the deconstruction of dialogue and theory、Emphasize the non -objectivity of knowledge，It is difficult for them to provide a certain knowledge for international relations disciplines。

On the basis of existing international relations theory，There are two possible knowledge growth points in China International Relations Discipline。On the one hand，China International Relations Discipline can further focus on the study of middle -level theory。The middle theory of international relations is generally targeted at the issue of a certain international relations，such as deterrence、Alliance、International Organization、Development assistance, etc.。For these specific issues areas，Can develop more specific theory of mid -level international relations，Why do some international organizations go to disintegrate、Why the institutionalization level of some regional cooperation is high but the actual integration level is low。In fact，​​China's international relations researchers have developed a lot in the theoretical Bet365 lotto review of the middle level，Especially reflected in many excellent doctoral dissertations every year。By applying macro explanatory international relations theory in specific issues areas，Discussion and critical at the paradigm level，It helps to promote knowledge progress and effective academic exchanges between China and the West。

On the other hand，Based on many existing theoretical theory of international relations，Researchers in China International Relations can further launch a standardized research。These studies should provide more specific solutions for promoting international cooperation。Of course，The existing interpretation research itself also has a standardized goal，For example, realism、Liberalism and constructivism, while explaining the root cause of the instability of the international system, also have some standardized inferences -such as the "two pole stability theory" of structural realism、Liberalism emphasizes the establishment of a more effective international system，but，The theory of normative international relations still has a lot of development space，and can have more targetedness。How should the EU's integration system be improved further? How to get along with peace between different civilizations?，World Health Organization、How should sovereign countries and multinational companies coordinate? In these standardized studies，The most important thing is to design suitable problems solving、The specific scheme that can mobilize different acts of active action，Strategic considerations with macro -macro，There are micro -system and policy design。

　Existing foreign policy theory and possible growth points

　　Compared to the theory of international relations，Foreign policy theory is not so sufficient，But it is not no progress at all。The difficulty of foreign policy theory is the conceptualization of national interests。Realism、Liberalism and constructivism do not have great differences in the content of national interests，But the question is，National Security、Economic Development、international influence and other specific national interests，How to sort in reality and lead to the introduction of the final foreign policy，This is essentially difficult to theoretical。Generally speaking，You need to examine the two levels of international systems and domestic politics at the same time，Complete it，It is possible to have a sufficient explanation of some specific foreign policies。In most cases，The pressure of the international system cannot directly determine foreign policy。Facing the same international system pressure，Different countries may make completely different choices。

In the existing Western foreign policy theory，It is worth mentioning that offensive realism、Defense realism and neoclassical realism:。Offensive realism and defensive realism are essentially the theory of interpretation and standardization，The former believes that in an anarchy，Big powers must continue to enhance your strength、Become a regional hegemony country，The latter believes that many profound changes have taken place in the current international system，The emergence of nuclear weapons、Economic mutual dependence、The emotions of nationalism make it more difficult to expand to the outside world，Defense measures instead of offensive measures are more conducive to maintaining their national security。These two standardized theories have seen some aspects in the reality of the international system，But because it focuses too much on some aspects，Therefore, its standardized claim can easily cause bet365 Play online games controversy。Simple offensive or defensive foreign policy is not necessarily rational，Instead, it is necessary to examine the location of different countries in the international system and the restrictions they have received。Similar，The "moral realism" proposed by Professor Yan Xuetong is also a standardized foreign policy theory，It is believed that realism should not exclude Taoism，Adhering to the principles of morality will help the rise of the country to get more international support、Successful replacement of the original hegemony country。

neoclassical realism is a theory of foreign policy that focuses on interpretation，It is considered that the state may expand external expansion under different conditions，It is also possible to adopt a defensive attitude，This basically depends on the national strength that the governments can use，It may also depend on how the leaders of various countries view the strength distribution in the international system。Whether the government can use the strength，Still the strength allocation in the eyes of leaders，It helps us understand why countries take different national interests under different conditions。but，It also has obvious limitations，Because this new concept that is synthesized by two factors is still just excessive simplification for many factors affecting foreign policy formulation。For example，Farid Zacalia believes that the United States has waited until the end of the 19th century to start colonial expansion，It is because the previous government is too weak、No enough strength，But this does not explain that the United States is obtaining the Philippines、Why did the external colonial process fall into stagnation after Guam。It is affected by too many factors due to the formulation of foreign policy，The theory of relatively single core concepts is difficult to have universal explanation。

Face this problem，Different international relations scholars still try to propose different core concepts，Create a diversified foreign policy theory，When conducting empirical analysis, we can use and integrate these different theories。Although the explanation of each theory may be limited，But different theories can be supplemented with each other。Scholars do not need to persist in prove that their theories can explain all events。In the process of constructing theory，If you want to make your theory more targeted，First of all, the state should be classified according to certain standards，Then develop the corresponding explanatory foreign policy theory for different types of countries。One of the problems facing here is，Whether to define the relevant type of national interests，Establish a cause and effect between national interests and foreign policies。If there is a clear definition of national interests，Then it will not be a theory that can explain rational foreign policy and irrational foreign policy at the same time，Because irrational foreign policy is definitely deviated from the country's national interests。It is possible to establish a foreign policy analysis framework with universal applicability，But it is very difficult to build a foreign policy theory with universal applicability。

Purely explained foreign policy theory to answer is: how does various foreign policies come out? The question of interpreting and standardizing foreign policy theory to answer is: for different types of countries，What should be like a rational foreign policy? Take Qin Yaqing's hegemony support theory as an example，This theory is only for the hegemonic bet365 Play online games state，Define the interests of the hegemonic country as the position of hegemony，The gap between the strength between the country of hegemony has become the basic basis for judging the relationship between the strategic interests of hegemony and other countries。This theory is the unity of interpretation and standardization，It can explain the rational foreign policy of the hegemonic country，It can also be used as the guidance principle of foreign policy of hegemony，But this theory does not explain the foreign policy of "non -rational" in the theory，That is, the gap between the strength between a country and the hegemonic country is very small，But the hegemonic country has not taken measures to curb and suppress it。Path -based path，On the basis of reasonable definition of national interests，Establishing the theory of equal interpretability and standardization，Compared to the theory of establishing a general explanation for the pursuit，More reasonable and advantageous: first，Foreign policy compared to understanding irrational foreign policy，What we need to pay more attention to is how to reasonably define national interests; second，There are too many roots of irrational policies，It may not be able to perform theoreticalization of universal significance; third，Foreign policy theory based on the path of rationalism can make the theory not too complicated，Keep a certain simplicity。

(The author is a professor at the School of International Relations of Renmin University of China)