State-Centrism in International Relations: Foundations, Theoretical Commitments, and Contemporary Critiques The intellectual foundation of international relations as a discipline has long been anchored in state-centric paradigms, which conceive of states as sovereign, territorially bound, rational actors operating in an anarchical international system. Rooted in the Westphalian tradition, this ontology privileges the state as the unitary … Continue reading Critically examine the foundational principles underpinning state-centric perspectives in international relations. Discuss how the concepts of sovereignty, territoriality, non-intervention, and the primacy of national interest shape the state-centric ontology of the global order. Evaluate the centrality of the state as the principal actor in classical realist and neorealist theories, and analyze how this worldview frames assumptions about anarchy, power politics, and international law. Consider also the critiques of state-centrism from transnational, liberal, constructivist, and post-structural approaches that challenge the adequacy of this paradigm in explaining contemporary global transformations.