A Guide to Creative Theorizing

In the previous chapters, six theoretical traditions, 17 currents of thought and numerous examples of applicable theory have been introduced (cf. Table 1.1). The chapters contribute considerable evidence to frequent claims that there is ‘One World, Many Theories’ (Walt 1998) and ‘One Field, Many Perspectives’ (Hermann 1998). Furthermore, the chapters demonstrate and confirm that the discipline is truly diverse and characterized by numerous contending perspectives. Such diversity has been praised and celebrated (Lapid 1989) though also observed with various degrees of scepticism (Lijphart 1974; Holsti 2001). Finally, the previous chapters, especially Chapter 1, have addressed the issue: why theory? In the present chapter, a related issue will be addressed: how theory? How do we theorize? How do we learn to think theoretically?