Editing International relations theory (section)

==Early history of the field==
Early international relations scholarship in the interwar years focused on the need for the [[Balance of power (international relations)|balance of power]] system to be replaced with a system of collective security. These thinkers were later described as "Idealists".<ref name=":0" /> The leading critique of this school of thinking was the "realist" analysis offered by Carr.

However, a more recent study, by David Long and Brian Schmidt in 2005, offers a revisionist account of the origins of the field of international relations. They claim that the history of the field can be traced back to late 19th century imperialism and internationalism. The fact that the history of the field is presented by "[[Great Debates (international relations)|great debates]]", such as the realist-idealist debate, does not correspond with the historic evidence found in earlier works: "We should once and for all dispense with the outdated anachronistic artifice of the debate between the idealists and realists as the dominant framework for and understanding the history of the field". Their revisionist account claims that, up until 1918, international relations already existed in the form of colonial administration, race science, and race development.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schmidt|first1=Brian|title=Imperialism and Internationalism in the Discipline of International Relations|last2=Long|first2=David|date=2005|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=9780791463239|location=New York}}</ref>