5.1 Theories as lenses
One way to think about theories is to think of them as lenses. Lenses can help you to:
- see more clearly – as spectacles do
- see things up close – as magnifying glasses do
- see the ‘bigger picture’ or what might otherwise be out of view – as a panoramic lens on your camera might
- focus on something and see it in minute detail – as microscopes do.
Lenses also filter what you see. They can reduce brightness (as sunglasses do) or remove reflection (as polarising lenses might). They can even make the world seem better than it is – as in, if you’re looking at it through rose tinted glasses. OK, maybe not that last one.
Using lenses
So, the first point to remember is that, just like lenses, theories can have different uses.
- Some are very general in their aims – focusing on the ‘bigger picture’ – and seek to say a few broad things about the world of international relations.
- Others are more specific, ‘magnifying’ a particular issue area such as security, peace or human rights, and seeking to set out key claims about that particular area.
The second point to keep in mind is that lenses help you see certain things, in certain ways. Different lenses have different foci, and different uses, so they allow you to see certain things better, or more clearly. But in doing so, lenses also distort. A microscopic lens, for instance, gives a very detailed picture of a very small piece of something, but at the cost of not seeing everything around it. A panoramic lens, on the other hand, can give a great view of a broad and expansive landscape, but you can lose the detail – such as, for instance, the people in the picture.
Lenses word cloud
You’ve been introduced to the idea that theories can function like ‘lenses’, sharpening, challenging or changing how you see the world, or approach a particular international relations issue. The next activity encourages you to reflect on what you have learned so far about how theories work and how they can be used.
Activity 9
Based on what you have read in this course, think about how theories help us understand international relations. Write down up to five words or short phrases that describe how theories work. For example, you might think of words like lenses or perspectives to show how theories help us see the world in different ways. You can also use phrases like bigger-picture or minute-detail to describe how theories can focus on broad patterns or specific issues.
Type your words into the text box below. Using these words, think about how international relations theories work and can be used. Don’t worry if you’re struggling to think of some examples – just enter as many as you can.
Discussion
In your text on how international relations theories work and can be used, you might have highlighted that international relations theories work like lenses: they highlight different aspects of a case or a problem, but in doing so, can distort, obscure or ignore others. You might have also said that, like lenses, different international relations theories have different uses – so, some are designed to focus on a specific issue area (such as security), whilst others offer broad-strokes or bigger-picture views of the international sphere as a whole. Finally, you might have said that given the different foci of different theories, and thus their ability to reveal some things but obscure others, it might be useful to analyse cases or issues in international politics using more than one lens or more than one theory – that is, to hold more than one theoretical lens over a case to get a better sense of its various aspects.
OpenLearn - Introducing International Relations
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