Abstract
In the study of international relations, two main theories have been historically opposed, leading to what today is referred to as the Neo-Neo debate. In fact, realism and liberalism, while sharing common assumptions, have a very different analytical perception of the international system and the interaction between states. While the realists have dominated the period of time relating to the beginning of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War, since 1989, the liberal theory seems to be regaining strength. But what are the major conceptual ideas of Liberals about international relations? In order to answer this question, we will first focus on the core assumptions of liberalism, after which we will expose the ideas it develops on state interaction and the functioning of the international system, and to end with, we will briefly analyze the main points of criticism of this theory.
