| The discipline of 'International Relations' utilizes numerous established theories combined with analysis of historical events to explain international actor/unit's present and historical behaviors, interactions, and events. Traditionally, new theories were developed by contradicting established theories which resulted in a saturation of intra-disciplinary debate and a significant lack in empirical evidence. Most established theories provide some truth in explaining international unit's behaviors, but they often fail to accept or acknowledge the possibilities of other theories; the discipline appears stagnant and splintered. Rhythmic interaction theory (RIT) uses a musical and multi-disciplinary approach to describe a unit's behaviors and to establish an empirical foundation for International Relations studies. One purpose of this paper is to promote theoretical collaboration in international relations by providing visual diagrams of unit interactions. These diagrams display the progressive rhythmic interaction between units through the exchange of rhythmic delays (referred to as frequency intrusions). In addition, the diagrams provide a visual recognition of common interactive patterns that support the probability of a unit's future behavior. This paper will include: 1.) a history and development of RIT. 2). a description and explanation of rhythmic interaction theory in international relations. 3). an RIT presentation of unit interactions on three levels of analysis: The individual, state, and system levels. |
