Summary Realism complete notes (+discussion of possible exam questions and answers to them)
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Course
International Relations Theories (IR2083)
Institution
London School Of Economics (LSE)
Here is everything you have to know about realism, the document contains the basic notes of major works, general notes that will help you study realism in a detail + it contains possible exam questions and answers
Realism
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The post-positivist approach is useful since it expands the debate of IR theory beyond facts
to include ethics, morals and values - constructivism, etc
Rationalists including realists and liberalists are generally positivistic in methodology; they
have a preference to measure and analyse what can be observed while accepting the
complexities of the social world. Post-positivists reject this and much rather prefer
interpretive and subjective study and believe that values cannot be separate from observation
Morgenthau (1948; 1970) - father of realism, search for power, power as a goal; "moral
dignity" of national interests - normative concept; multipolarity is the most stable
Waltz (1964; 1991; 1979) - stability of bipolarity; defensive structural realist; admits that
state may have different interests and internal dispositions
Mearsheimer (2001) - offensive realism; states are power -maximisers
Gilpin (1981) - Politics of War and Change; complex theory, states are rational and weigh
their gains and losses, older societies are less dynamic than new ones
Wohlforth (1999) - the stability of unipolar world; Hegemonic Stability Theory
Hobson (2000) - war as possible for both tyrannies and democracies
Grieco (1995) - zero-sum game
Snyder (1997) - process variables (alignment), institutional variables (structural modi ers)
Zakaria (1998) - political conquest as means of stabilising IR
Study guide
- Origin: Hobbes
- Main idea: the pursuit of power is therefore a primary goal insofar as it helps states to
guarantee their survival in a world
- Narrow theory: focus of the causes of violent con icts
- Instead of a global government, Realism’s international system is given shape by the
relative power of its constituent states
- Polarity - is an important Realist tool when analysing the nature of international relations
on the global or regional scale.
- Popular during CW
- Classical and structural realism share statism(bc non-state actors lack military capacity),
survival as the main goal, self-help
Relative power of states: neo-realism sees the relation of states with each other as a ‘zero
sum game’. That is to say, states need to have the advantage relative to other states. It
doesn’t matter how powerful a state is, it is always in its interest to increase the power gap
between itself and its competitors. In contrast to liberalism, there are no win–win situations
(Grieco 1995)
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, Schools of realism
Classical, structural, neoclassical realism
Classical: Morgenthau, Carr, Kissinger
Morgenthau: states pursue power and security at one another’s expense
Classical Realists assert that human nature holds the key to understanding war and
con ict.
(from Mearsheimer) The 20 Years Crisis (1938) was written not to articulate realism but to
criticise the ignoring of the role of power. Carr was a determinist who did not think that
individuals could purposely re-order the international system in fundamental ways.
Carr maintained that both ideals and power play role in policy-making. Example of
humanitarian intervention. Morality is the product of power.
Hans Morgenthau
War is a natural product of awed human nature operating in a ungoverned and therefore
insecure international system. Human nature is key to understanding war and con ict.
Every state has objective national interest. Domestic environment is the only source of
survival, in structural - structure provides opportunities for alliances.
- Reaction against “idealism” of interwar period – stress need to deal with politics and
realities of power as they are not as we may hope them to be
- Human nature and anarchy (but stress tends to be more on human nature)
- States primary units, but individual decision makers are important (diplomacy)
- Distinction between revisionist and status-quo states
- More a theory of foreign policy of states than theory of international system per se
- Not particularly scienti c – evidence is drawn selectively from history
6 principles of Morgenthau:
1) Politics is governed by objective laws which have roots in human nature
2) National interest de ned in terms of national power
3) Interest is is always dynamic
4) Abstract moral principles cannot be applied to politics
5) There is a distinction between moral aspirations of a nation and universal moral
principles
6) International Politics as a discipline is autonomous
Morgenthau’s contribution to the realist tradition must be assessed in terms of three key
ideas – human nature, power and interest – and one general theme, the balance of power.
Morgenthau, with his historical approach, argues that ‘the balance of power and policies
aiming at its preservation are not only inevitable but are an essential stabilising factor in a
society of sovereign nations’
Structural realism(neo-realism): Waltz(defensive), Mearsheimer(offensive), Jervis
emerged in 1970s
Looks at systemic causes: anarchic structures of international system
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, It is a response to pluralist challenge. Waltz’s basic strategy for preserving realism in the face
of the pluralist challenge is to restrict its scope
Waltz(1979) He asserts that states are victims of the security dilemma, in which one
state’s efforts to ensure its survival will threaten the security of states around it. Following
Realism’s concept of self-help, Waltz argues that the only rational course of action for a state
in an anarchic international system is to maintain enough military and political power to
defend itself against aggression. In doing so, it might invest in new weapons or seek alliances
with other states who may or may not come to its aid in a crisis. Unfortunately, these steps
toward self-defence will appear threatening to neighbouring states, forcing them to respond
with their own military build-up and alliance making.
Brown(2009)Although Waltz’s realism is sometimes described as structural realism, and
structuralism is generally seen as the polar opposite of rational choice theory, it is the
possibilities opened up by assimilating his approach to rational choice theory that account
for the long-term signi cance of his work – and, contrariwise, the bitterest and most
sustained critiques of Waltz have come from opponents of rational choice theory.
Waltz made possible the integration of IR theory into the dominant mode of theorising
politics in the US – what remains to be seen is whether this constitutes a giant leap forward
in our abilities to comprehend IR, or a major detour down a dead-end. The rest of this
chapter sets out these alternatives.
Waltz does not assume that states are self-aggrandising, necessarily aggressive bodies, but he
does assume that they desire to preserve themselves. The result of these movements is the
emergence of a balance of power. The balance of power system of international politics is an
inevitable consequence of its anarchical structure. The lesson we learn from history is that
‘balancing, not bandwagoning, is the behaviour induced by the system. The rst concern of
states is not to maximise power but to maintain their positions in the system’
Waltz - bipolar systems are easier to manage because there are fewer interested parties
involved.
Cooperation is complicated - stag hunt metaphor.
States can be treated as units. The ultimate concern is not for power but for security.
Security maximisers (Waltz). Balance of power emerges irrespective of intentions of any
particular state, while classical realists emphasise the role of state leaders and diplomats in
maintaining the balance of power.
- Emphasis on structure of the international system (anarchy) as the most important factor
driving state behaviour.
- Structure of the system characterised by 1) organising principle(anarchy), 2) nature of
units, 3) distribution of power between the units.
- States can be treated as functionally undifferentiated units – billiard ball model.What
matters is not the nature of the units themselves but the distribution of power between
them.
- Not a theory of foreign policy but a theory of international relations
- States are “defensive positionalists” that look to achieve security through the balance of
power.
- Security is (relatively) plentiful – stable balances of power can be formed.
- Aggressive power seeking and conquest are ultimately self-defeating.
- Revisionist states an anomaly to be explained by individual or domestic level of analysis.
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