ABSTRACT
Although structuralism has waned in popularity in recent years, it has been important in the history of International Relations theory, and continues to have relevance today for a number of reasons. First, structuralist calls for justice continue to strike a chord with many people, particularly in the developing world. Structuralism can be seen as a perspective on the world which prioritises the plight of the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed. Structuralists argue that global economic relations are structured so as to benefit certain social classes, and that the resulting ‘world-system’ is fundamentally unjust.
It is important to distinguish the structuralism discussed here from the ‘top-down’ structural realism of Waltz — see previous chapter. For structuralists the fundamental units of analysis are not states, but social classes and the international system of production and exchange.
