classic realism Flashcards
what are the four subfields of political science
political theory, Canadian politics, comparative politics, international relations
what is ideological utopianism
how thing should be ( for the better )
what is the name of the pack who outlaw war
the Kellongg-briand pact
what is the current principal paradigm in ID
the realist paradigm
what are the three key elements of realism
power matters, states are rational actors, there is anarchy
the strong do what they can…
and the weak do what they must
who attempted to spell out political realism
Hans J. Morgenthau
political realism is..
Pessimistic: no fundamental solution to imperfection and suffering. BALANCE
what are the six principle of political realism
1) politics is govern by objective laws rooted in human nature ( not opinion, subjective )
2) interest defined in terms of power.
3) National interest.
4) moral significance, moral can’t be used to judged states.
5) don’t judged behaviour of a state in comparison to the moral laws of the universe.
6) policies should be judged according to how they affect the power of the state.
what are the 2 fallacies of the principle of power
1) motive fallacy; good intension doesn’t necessarily produce good outcomes 2) ideological preferences: oversimplification of reality
what are the assumption of realism
- anarchy.
- the principle actor are powerful states.
- anarchy cause fear of elimination so seek power for security.
- states use power for national interest.
- states behave in an approximately rational matter
- states focus on the power of other states ( rather than intentions cause might change )
- states are defensive positionalists ( focusing on relative gains rather than absolute gain )
what are relative and absolute gain
relative gains are when a state compares itself in terms of relative power or is sensitive to its relative ranking. absolute gain is when a state examine whether it is better off today than before and whether it will be better off in the future than presently.
what is the law of uneven growth
states perpetually grow at different rates
who identified the law of uneven growth
Lenin
what is the weaknesses of realism
Realism doesn’t tell us about system change, the law of uneven growth and issue of identity ( why not empire, why people identify one country and not other )
