Realism and the Way of War

Question 1

Classical Realism: Intellectual Influences: Thucydides

Answer 1

‘The History of the Peloponnesian War’
Underlying cause of war: fear of change in the balance of power.
“While the strong do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must”

Question 2

Classical Realism: Intellectual Influences: Machiaveli

Answer 2

“It is much safer to be feared than loved because… love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails”

Politics: an’amoral’ pursuit

Question 3

Classical Realism: Intellectual Influences: Hobbes

Answer 3

‘State of nature’ a war of ‘all against all’
Pessimistic view of human nature
Sovereignty
Anarchy
‘The life of man would solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’.

Question 4

Classical Realism: intellectual Influences: Clausewitz

Answer 4

‘On War’
“War is the continuation of political activity by other means” or “War is politics by other means”.
The state is a ‘rational actor’
‘Instrumental rationality, or ‘cost-benefit’ rationality.

Question 5

Classical Realism: Academic Origins

Answer 5

E.H. Carr
‘The Twenty Years Crisis’
Critique of the ‘failure’ of post-World War 1 Utopian/Idealist ideas.

Question 6

What are Morgenthau’s Six Principles of Political Realism?

Answer 6

1. Politics is governed by objective laws which have their roots in human nature.
2. National interest is defined in terms of power
3. The pursuit of national interest has universal validity, regardless of the circumstances of time and place.
4. Abstract moral principles are not applicable to international politics.
5. The moral ambitions of a particular state does not reflect universal moral principles and are ultimately a means of disguising and justifying their own national interests.
6. The autonomy of international politics.

Question 7

What is the main difference between classical realism and neo realism?

Answer 7

Classical realism: emphasis on human agency
Neo-realism: Systematic dynamics
‘Structure-Agent’ problem

Question 8

What are the underlying assumptions about Realism?

Answer 8

National security is the primary and ultimate concern of the state in the international system.
A struggle for the survival in an anarchic world.
The struggle for power is a constant and cannot be separated from the search for national security.

Question 9

What are the three S’s of realism?

Answer 9

Statism, Survival, Self-help

Question 10

What is the Security Dilemma?

Answer 10

Arms-Races: A systematic feature
Security is innately competitive
Security is a derivative of power
Tube station analogy: In an environment where others behave badly, doing likewise is the only way to survive.

Question 11

How does the pattern of the 20th century appear to confirm the neo-realist view?

Answer 11

Security wars become total wars

Victory in both cases resulted in another arms race, another war and a potential nuclear war.

Question 12

What are the critiques of the security dilemma?

Answer 12

Security competition determines the character of international relations
Is there a correlation between facts and theory?
Fits certain periods of the 20th century
Overwhelming concern with security
Arms races
Wars lost all become total wars
Victory and defeat were total, yet another arms race began after each conflict
Defence primarily a preparation for war.
Peace is an armed race
Arms races an inherent attribute of the cycle
Are politicians forced into this cycle or do they choose it?
How do we explain periods of peace?
How do we explain co-operation and interdependence?
Some ‘facts’ do not correspond to the Security Dilemma
Most sustained arms race in history ended with peace not war (power transistion)