This chapter turns to critical international theory. It clarifies that the roots of critical theory are from Marxism while also acknowledging that it departs from classical Marxism in significant ways. The emergence of a distinctive critical international theory in the early 1980s rapidly triggered a virtual explosion of different kinds of critical approaches to the study of international politics. The chapter then elaborates on the Frankfurt School's particular brand of critical theory and Jürgen Habermas' arguments in this field, which are concerned with undistorted communication. It then considers how critical international theory raises the possibility of distinguishing the barriers to and viable prospects for further human emancipation across the world.
