IR 501 Lecture Notes (2)Realism

Dr. Bezen Balamir Coşkunbezencoskun@zirve.edu.tr

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Realism

Realism is the dominant theory of international relations. Can you think why?

Realism

Realists claim that because it provides the most powerful explanation for the state of war which is the regular condition of life in the international system.

The story of realism...

begins with the idealist writers’ claims of inter-war period (1919-1939). According to realists, the inter-war scholars’ approach was flawed, for example they ignored the role of power and overestimated the degree to which human beings were rational.

Realism rose from the ashes of idealist approach.

The story of realism...

a great debate took place in 1930s & 1940s between the inter-war idealists and realists namely E.H. Carr, Hans Morgenthau, Reinhold Niebuhr, Frederick Schuman, George Kennan etc. who all emphasized the primacy of power and the competitive nature of politics among nations.

The story of realism...

The theory of realism became dominant after the WW II.

Raison d’etat of Realism

The state as the key actor in international politics

States must pursue power to perpetuate the life of the state in a hostile and threatening environment

Sceptical of the idea that universal moral principles exist

3 Ss= Statism - Survival - Self-help

Distinction between domestic and international politics

International Politics

“international politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power” (Morgenthau 1948:25)

• Realists argue that the basic structure of international politics is one of anarchy in that each of the independent sovereign states consider themselves to be their own highest authority and do not recognize a higher power above them.

Classical Realism: key thinkers &

texts• Thucydides (c. 460-406 bc), The

Peloponnesian War

• Machiavelli (1532), The Prince

• Morgenthau (1948), Politics among Nations

Classical Realism: key arguments

• International politics driven by an endless struggle for power which has roots in human nature

• The ultimate skill of the state leader is to accept, and adopt to, the changing power political configurations in world politics

• Politics is governed by laws that are created by human nature. The mechanism we use to understand international politics is through the concept of interests, defined in terms of power

Structural Realism: key thinkers &

texts• Rousseau (c.1750) The State of

War

• Waltz (1979) Theory of International Politics

• Mearsheimer (2001) Tragedy of Great Power Politics

Structural Realism: key arguments

• It is not human nature, but the anarchical system which fosters fear, jealousy, suspicion and insecurity

• Anarchy leads to a logic of self-help in which sates seek to maximize their security. The most stable distribution of power in the system is bipolarity

• The anarchical, self-help system compels states to maximize their relative power position

Neo-classical Realism: key

thinkers• Schweller (1997), Neo-realism’s

Status Quo Bias: What Security Dilemma

• Zakaria (1998), From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America’s World Role

Neo-classical Realism: key arguments

• The systemic account of world politics provided by structural realism is incomplete. It needs to be supplemented with better accounts of unit level variables such as how power is perceived, and how leadership is exercised

Rational Choice Realism

• Grieco (1993), Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Institutions

• Krasner (1999), Sovereignty: Organized Hypocracy

Rational Choice Realism

• Institutions matter although the problem of relative gains means that they exert less of causal force than neo-liberals. Rational choice realists use advanced social science methodologies such as game theory

Key Points (1)• Statism is the centerpiece of

Realism.

• State is the pre-eminent actor in world politics

• Sovereignty signifies the existence of an independent political community , one which has juridical authority over its territory

Key Points (1)

• Criticism: Statism is flawed both on empirical (challenges to state power) and normative grounds (the inability of sovereign states to respond to collective global problems)

Key Points (2)

• Survival is the primary objective of all states. All other goals are secondary or low politics.

Key Points (2)

• Criticism: Are there no limits to what actions a state can take in the name of necessity?

Key points (3)

• Self-help: no other state or institution can be relied upon to guarantee your survival. In international politics, the structure of the system does not permit friendship, trust and honour.

Key points (3)• Criticism: Self-help is not an

inevitable consequence of the absence of a world government. There are historical and contemporary examples of where states have preferred collective security systems, or forms of regional security communities.

Food for thought

How would a realist explain the war on terror discuss.