IR Theory and Practice: Comparative Essay

I’m trying to learn for my Political Science class and I’m stuck. Can you help?

An essay of 1,500-1,750 words in length (excluding the bibliography). Anything beyond 1,750 will not be read or marked. The essay must present a clear and detailed argument addressing the question posed below, and must also discuss TWO IR theoretical approaches. A minimum of 3 academic sources must be used. Sources should be listed in a bibliography, and quotations should be acknowledged where necessary.

Essay Question:

Which theoretical approach offers the best understanding of one of key issues discussed in the Winter semester? Answer by comparing at least two IR theoretical approaches (or theories).

Some of the key issues to consider :effectiveness of the UN; climate change, environmental degradation; global trade, inequality; poverty and international development; war; international security; terrorism; nuclear weapons proliferation; humanitarian intervention. You can pick a more specific topic within the broad topic (e.g., the Paris agreement; North Korea and nuclear weapons; the war in Yemen; achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), etc.)

Some of the IR theories/approaches to consider: Realism; Liberalism; Marxist approaches; Critical Theory; Poststructuralism; Feminism; Post-colonialism; Queer international theory; Green theory; and Constructivism