Main ideas of Realism

Question 1

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

What does selfish human nature lead to?

Answer 1

selfish states

Question 2

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

What is selfish human nature the root cause of?

Answer 2

conflict between states

Question 3

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

What did Thucydides and Morgenthau argued?

Answer 3

human beings are fundamentally self-centred

Question 4

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

How far will people/states pursue their own interests?

Answer 4

to promote their national interest at the expense of other states

Question 5

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

Why will states promote their own interest above the others?

Answer 5

• due to uncertainty about intentions of other states

- have no guarantee of co-operation

Question 6

SELFISH HUMAN NATURE

Does competition or cooperation lead to war? Why?

Answer 6

Competition rather than cooperation between states lead to war

because competition leads to a clash of interests

Question 7

RATIONALITY

Are states assumed to act rationally? Why?

Answer 7

Yes they act rationally

this is due to rational choice theory

Question 8

RATIONALITY

What are relations with other states determined by?

Answer 8

relative value of costs vs benefits of such an actions

if benefits are higher then the perceived cost then states pursue a policy

Question 9

UNITARY ACTORS

Is there division of opinion within state?

Answer 9

No division of opinion as to what constitutes the states’ interests

Question 10

UNITARY ACTORS

What is always in the states’ interests?

Answer 10

• to increase their power

- as a consequence, increase their security

Question 11

UNITARY ACTORS

What does the ‘billiard ball model’ demonstrate?

Answer 11

views states as autonomous and self-contained units

Question 12

AMORAL

Are states moral? Why?

Answer 12

States do not act according to concepts of justice, rights and religious mortality

they only act to what is in their interests

Question 13

AMORAL

What did Machiavelli advocate in ‘The Prince’?

Answer 13

rulers of states should be ruthless in pursuing their interests

what matters is achievements of these interests, how how they’re achieved

Question 14

AMORAL

What did Randall Schweller go so far to say?

Answer 14

‘a just war is one in the national interest’

Question 15

POWER

What are states motivated by?

Answer 15

pursuit of national interest

Question 16

POWER

What do realists argue that is power?

Answer 16

pursuit of national interest

Question 17

POWER

What do classical realists believe about power?

Answer 17

power is a good in itself

Question 18

POWER

What do neo-realists believe about power?

Answer 18

power as a means to security

Question 19

POWER

It is not known how much power guarantees security, so what do neo-realists argue?

Answer 19

that the safest course is for a state to become the hegemon

Question 20

POWER

Why must states compete with each other for military and economic power?

Answer 20

because power is a finite resource

Question 21

POWER

What is a ‘zero-sum game’?

Answer 21

the theory that as one state gains power, the other state inevitably loses power

Question 22

POWER

What will weaker states do when they are aware of their vulnerability? How will they do this?

Answer 22

try to increase their power

by increasing the size of their military and acquiring more powerful weapons

Question 23

POWER

What is the security dilemma?

Answer 23

states are unsure about the intentions of other states

they build up their military capacity

other countries, not sure of their intentions, also increase their military capacity

this increases tensions and raises possibility of war

Question 24

POWER

Why do states naturally seek a balance of power?

Answer 24

to curb the hegemonic ambition of more powerful states

Question 25

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHY

Who are the principal actors in the international systems? Why is this

Answer 25

states

no higher authority than the state
e.g. cannot be accounted for their actions or punished if they infringe rights

Question 26

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHY

Is this any use to trying to use language of rights and justice to bring states to heel?

Answer 26

no

Question 27

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHY

What concept is the international system like? What is this known as?

Answer 27

Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’ where states can act with impunity

this is what is known as international anarchy

Question 28

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHY
What do some realists state is the reason that allows the states to get away with acting selfishly? And what does this cuase?

Answer 28

the international system

conflict

Question 29

INEVITABILITY OF WAR

Is war is inevitable?

Answer 29

yes

Question 30

INEVITABILITY OF WAR

What poses a threat to world peace?

Answer 30

• security dilemma
• states’ desire for power
• realist assumptions about the zero-sum nature of power

Question 31

INEVITABILITY OF WAR

What are some of the reasons realists put forward the inevitability of war?

Answer 31

• states are selfish, there is bound to be a disagreement and competition for resources
• lack of adherence to any moral principles and the pursuit of power is bound to lead to misunderstandings
• limited amount of power in the world means all states pose a threat

Question 32

INEVITABILITY OF WAR

What did Randall Schweller state?

Answer 32

‘always the danger of war lurking in the background’

Question 33

SECURITY DILEMMA

What does creating an arms race or ‘bandwagoning’ increase?

Answer 33

increases the insecurity of all

Question 34

SECURITY DILEMMA

Why did Kenneth Waltz argue that the states become obsessed with security?

Answer 34

because of the anarchy in the international system

Question 35

SECURITY DILEMMA

What does the consequence of more states with larger armies and more weapons have?

Answer 35

makes the world a more dangerous place