Anarchy, Nature, and Innovation

Abstract The variety of topics studied in the field of International Relations contrasts sharply with the relatively anemic theoretical framework that IR scholars use to study those topics. The search for “midlevel theory” has led to a vast proliferation of explanatory variables that matter for specific questions. While that approach has significant advantages, a significant disadvantage is that it leads to an intellectual blizzard. Computers might thrive on hundreds of variables, but humans need efficient ways to understand problems. This essay proposes three ordering principles as a framework for teaching and guide for intellectual inquiry: Anarchy, Nature, and Innovation. Ordering principles are not the same as variables: they provide holistic information about how a system fits together. While Anarchy has long been recognized as an ordering principle, treating Anarchy as the sole ordering principle leads to a flawed, static, overly conflictual view of the world. That mistake can be substantially remedied by treating Nature and Innovation as similarly important ordering principles. A critique of three recent books illustrates the intellectual gains of using this set of three ordering principles to guide inquiry.