ABSTRACT
This chapter examines why it is beneficial to examine global politics from different perspectives or levels of analysis and how each perspective enables the observer to see different aspects of events. Feminist theorists contend that major theoretical approaches like realism and liberalism focus on issues that grow out of men's experiences and, presumably, would be different if account were taken of women's experiences. The chapter reviews several great debates over theory and method and examines several competing bodies of theory – realism/neorealism, liberalism/neoliberalism, the English School, constructivism, Marxism, postpositivism, critical theory, and feminist theory. As the world grows more complex, actors depend on one another for security and prosperity, and the actions of each have a ripple effect that ultimately has an impact on others. Science fiction offers another means to assess alternative world futures.
