io-theory-building
Use when building the theoretical argument of an International Organization (IO) manuscript into a generalizable theory of international politics — whether rationalist/formal (bargaining, signaling, delegation, cooperation), constructivist/ideational, or empirical with explicit international mechanisms. IO rewards a portable IR theory over a bare finding. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill io-theory-building --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Theory & Argument Building (io-theory-building) IO publishes "articles that propose **generalizable theories**" of international politics. A result is not an IO contribution until it is attached to an **IR theory the field can carry to other cases, dyads, and institutions.** This skill turns findings into theory: explicit mechanisms operating at or across the international level, scope conditions, and observable implications. ## When to trigger - The empirics are strong but the "so what for IR theory" is thin - A reviewer said the paper is "atheoretical," "ad hoc," or "just a finding" - You need to state the international mechanism, assumptions, and scope conditions explicitly - Formal modeling: deciding what to model about strategic interaction among states/actors ## Build the argument (by mode of work) ### Empirical paper with an IR theory 1. **Concept** — define the key IR construct precisely (e.g., institutional legitimacy, audience cost, credible commitment); distinguish it from neighbors. 2. **International mechanism** — the causal story at/across the international level: which actors (states, IGOs, firms, transnational groups), what strategic incentives and constraints, wh
- When to trigger
- Build the argument (by mode of work)
- Empirical paper with an IR theory
- Formal / game-theoretic paper (a core IO mode)
- Constructivist / ideational / interpretive paper
- The "portability" test (IO-specific)
- Worked theory vignette (illustrative): finding to portable theory
- Theory-strength rubric (how an IO referee grades the argument)
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the io-theory-building skill do?
Use when building the theoretical argument of an International Organization (IO) manuscript into a generalizable theory of international politics — whether rationalist/formal (bargaining, signaling, delegation, cooperation), constructivist/ideational, or empirical with explicit international mechanisms. IO rewards a portable IR theory over a bare finding. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill io-theory-building --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 984 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.