British theories of
international relations (IR) are different from those in the United States.British theories,characterized
self-determined
development,became an open"world factory of knowledge"about
international relations.They are open in terms that they share the Anglo American tradition.At the same time,Great Britain positioned itself as an important part of European IR theory.They developed in a self determined fashion in that the development over the past 100 years was not against the backdrop of American social science.There are two strands in British IR theory:international sociology and international political economy.These are unique in the world.Many British scholars prefer to follow the"international relations critique,"which is a deconstruction of the orthodox IR theory.Compared to mainstream IR theory in the United States,which is characterized by rational choice and empiricism and state centralism,IR theory in Britain is characterized by pluralism and democracy.Scholars in Great Britain are never pushed to follow a unified theory.This means that scholars in Great Britain,compared to those in America, have more possibilities and are more qualified to respond to the many challenges and problems that have been emerging with globalization. Some theorists in Great Britain have been seeking to penetrate IR theory into broader research on society,politics,culture,anthropology,philosophy,and even literature.This kind of IR theory is gradually growing in opposition to the orthodox principles.It is worthy of the attention of Chinese colleagues in this field.