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Realism (international relations)

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For other meanings of the term realism, see realism (disambiguation).

Realism, also known as political realism, in the context of international relations, encompasses a variety of theories and approaches, all of which share a belief that states are primarily motivated by the desire for military and economic power or security, rather than ideals or ethics. This term is often synonymous with power politics.

The term realism can, instead of referring to the broad family of realist theories, refer specifically to classical realism, the common ancestor and original form of realism.

Common assumptions

Realist theories share the following key assumptions:

  • The international system is anarchic. There is no authority above states capable of regulating their interactions; states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity (that is, no true authoritative world government exists).
  • Sovereign states are the principal actors in the international system. International institutions, non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations and other sub-state or trans-state actors are viewed as having little independent influence.
  • States are rational unitary actors each moving towards their own national interest. There is a general distrust of long-term cooperation or alliance.
  • The overriding 'national interest' of each state is its national security and survival.
  • In pursuit of national security, states strive to amass resources.
  • Relations between states are determined by their comparative level of power derived primarily from their military and economic capabilities.

In summary, realists believe that mankind is not inherently benevolent but rather self-centered and competitive. This Hobbesian perspective contrasts with the liberalism approach to international relations which views human nature as selfish and conflictual unless given appropriate conditions under which to cooperate. Further, they believe that states are inherently aggressive (offensive realism) and/or obsessed with security (defensive realism); and that territorial expansion is only constrained by opposing power(s). This aggressive build-up, however, leads to a security dilemma where increasing one's own security can bring along greater instability as the opponent(s) builds up its own arms. Thus, security is a zero-sum game where only relative gains can be made.

History and branches

Historic antecedents

While Realism as a formal discipline in international relations didn't arrive until World War II, its primary assumptions have been expressed in earlier writings [1]:

  • Sun Tzu (or Sunzi), an ancient Chinese military strategist who wrote the Art of War.
  • Chanakya early Indian statesman, and writer on the Arthashastra.
  • Thucydides, an ancient Greek historian who wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War and is also cited as an intellectual forebearer of realpolitik.
  • Hanfeizi, Chinese scholar who theorised Legalism (or Legism) and who served in the court of the King of Qin - later unifier of China ending the Warring States Period. His writings include The Two Handles (about punishments and rewards as tools of governance). He theorised about a neutral, manipulative ruler who would act as Head of State while secretly controlling the executive through his ministers - the ones to take real responsibility for any policy.
  • Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine political philosopher, who wrote Il Principe (The Prince) in which he held that the sole aim of a prince (politician) was to seek power, regardless of religious or ethical considerations.
  • Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher who wrote Leviathan in which he stated that in anarchy there is a "war of all against all".
  • Otto von Bismarck, a Prussian statesman coined the term balance of power. Balancing power meant keeping the peace and careful realpolitik practitioners tried to avoid arms races.
  • Carl von Clausewitz was a 19th century Prussian general and military theorist who wrote Vom Kriege (On War).
See also: Cardinal Richelieu, Mercurino Gattinara, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, Prince Klemens von Metternich, and Vlad Ţepeş

.

"Classical Realism"

Modern realism began as a serious field of research in the United States during and after World War II. This evolution was partly fueled by European war migrants like Hans Morgenthau who had a negative view of human nature, thought by some to be due to their experiences in war.

Prominent classical realists:

"Liberal Realism" or the "English School" or "Rationalism"

Main article: English School

The English School holds that while the international system is anarchical, order can be promoted through diplomacy, international law and society. This school thus gives credence to establishing IGOs such as the United Nations.

Prominent liberal realists

Hedley Bull argued for both the existence of international society of states and its perseverance even in times of great systemic upheaval, meaning regional or so-called “world wars.”

"Neorealism" or "Structural Realism"

Main article: Neorealism

Neorealism derives from classical realism except that instead of human nature, its focus is predominantly on the international system. While states remain the principal actors, greater attention is given to the forces above and below the states through a levels of analysis or structure-agency debate. The international system is seen as a structure acting on the state with individuals below the level of the state acting as agency on the state as a whole.

While neorealism shares a focus on the international system with the English School, neorealism differs in the emphasis it places on the permanence of conflict. To ensure state security, states must be on constant preparation for conflict through economic and military build-up.

Prominent neorealists

"Neoclassical realism"

Neoclassical Realism can be seen as the third generation of realism, coming after the classical authors of the first wave (Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Morgenthau), and the neorealists (esp. Kenneth Waltz). Its designation of "neoclassical", then, has a double meaning: 1) It offers the classics a renaissance; 2) It is a synthesis of the neorealist and the classical realist approaches.

Gideon Rose is responsible for coining the term in a book review he wrote [2].

The primarily motivation underlying the development of neoclassical realism was the fact that neorealism was only useful to explain political outcomes (classified as being 'theories of international politics'), but had nothing to offer about particular states' behavior (or 'theories of foreign policy'). The basic approach, then, was for these authors to "refine, not refute, Kenneth Waltz", by adding domestic intervening variables between systemic incentives and a state's foreign policy decision. Thus, the basic theoretical architecture of Neoclassical Realism is:

Distribution of power in the international system (Independent Variable) >>> Domestic perception of the system and/or domestic incentives (Intervening Variable) >>> Foreign Policy decision (Dependent Variable)

While neoclassical realism has only been used for theories of foreign policy so far, Randall Schweller notes that it could be useful to explain certain types of political outcomes as well.[3].

Neoclassical realism is particularly appealing from a research standpoint because it still retains a lot of the theoretical rigor that Waltz has brought to realism, but at the same time can easily incorporate a content-rich analysis, since its main method for testing theories is the process-tracing of case studies.

Prominent neoclassical realists[2]

Realism in Statecraft

Modern realist statesmen

Criticisms

Democratic peace

Democratic peace theory advocates also argue that Realism is not applicable to Democratic states relations between one another, as these states have been shown to conduct relations with the absence of war in their foreign policies.

See also

References

  1. ^ Political Realism, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  2. ^ a b Gideon Rose, "Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy", World Politics, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 144-172
  3. ^ Randall L. Schweller, "The Progressiveness of Neoclassical Realism", pp. 311-347 in Colin Elman and Miriam Fendius Elman eds., Progress in International Relations Theory, (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2003)

External links

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