1. International Relations and the International System since 1989  The collapse of the Cold War world  Realist approaches to the post Cold War international politics - neo-realism - neo-structural realism  Liberal conceptualization of the world politics after 1989 - Liberal institutionalism - Democratic peace thesis - ‘Collective security’ theory

2. Neo-realist conceptualisation of the post Cold War international politics Mearscheimer  Return to the multilateral balance of power politics  Instability and conflict caused by extreme nationalism and interstate rivalries  Limited cooperation between the states, because of two factors: the problem of cheating and the problem of relative gains

3. Neo-structural realists: contingent realists and the mature anarchy thesis  Contingent realists- Glaser - reject the competition bias of neo-realism - Do not accept that states are motivated by only relative gains - Hold that the emphasis on cheating is exaggerated  Mature anarchy thesis- Barry Buzan - recognize a change away from the preoccupation with the national security - The security community thesis

4. Liberal conceptualization of the world politics after 1989- I Liberal Institutionalism:  the international institutions create a framework for cooperation within which security competition can be mitigated  the institutionalized cooperation between the states strengthens the international peace and security  The EU and NATO after the end of the Cold War

5. Liberal conceptualization of the world politics after 1989- II Democratic peace thesis- Michael Doyle and Bruce Russett:  democracies tend not to fight each other, because of the democratic representation, their ideological commitment to human rights  The transnational interdependence as a factor  shared democracy contributes to reduce the security dilemma

6. Liberal conceptualization of the world politics after 1989- III Collective security: Charles and Clifford Kupchan  Regulated and institutionalized balancing/ move beyond the self-help world of realism  Collective security exists under three central conditions: - states’ renunciation of the use of force - States accommodate the interest of the international community - States overcome fear and learn to trust each other