Regime Theory in International Political Economy (IPE)
As stated above, a regime is defined by Stephen D. Krasner as a set of explicit or implicit "principles, norms, rules, and decision making procedures around which actor expectations converge in a given issue-area.” This definition is intentionally broad, and covers human interaction ranging from formal organizations (i.e., OPEC) to informal groups (i.e., major banks during the debt crisis). Note that a regime need not be composed of states.
Within IPE there are three main approaches to regime theory: the dominant, liberal-derived interest-based approach; the realist critique of interest-based approaches, and finally knowledge-based approaches that come from the cognitivist school of thought (Hasenclever, 1997). The first two are rationalist approaches while the third is sociological.
Although realism is arguably the dominant school of thought in the field of international relations generally, within regime theory specifically, because regime theory is by definition a theory that explains international cooperation (i.e. it's a traditionally liberal concept) liberal approaches prevail within the literature.
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