Week 3: Realism Flashcards
What is a theory?
simplified/ abstract version of reality
What question does theory attempt to answer?
Why do wars occur?
E.g. Wars occur when powerful states are declining in power and faces an increasing threat from rising powers nearby
What are the 2 types of theories?
1) Normative Theories
2) Positive Theories
What are Normative Theories?
An argument of why something should be
E.g. Should states intervene in genocides of other states?
What are Positive Theories?
Attempt to explain how things actually are
E.g. Why do states sometimes intervene in other states’ genocides and sometimes not?
What are the core assumptions of Realism?
1) Struggle for power
2) Pessimistic about conflict
3) Security Competition Equation
4) Emphasis on hard power
5) Immutability of IR
What is the Security Competition Equation?
Security Competition = Anarchy + Need to survive + Uncertainty of Intentions + Power
Is power seen as relative or absolute in Realism?
Relative
What are Doers of Realism?
People who put Realism into practice
What are Founders of Realism?
Individuals who founded Modern Realists thoughts
What are Thinkers of Realism?
Most Important individuals shaping Realists thoughts today
Who is a Doer of Realism?
Henry Kissinger - realist of foreign policy/ decision makers
Who are Founders of Realism?
1) Hans Morgenthau - Classical Realism
2) Kenneth Waltz - Neorealism/ Structural Realism
Who are Thinkers of Realism?
1) John Mearsheimer - Offensive Realism
2) Stephen Walt - Defensive Realism
What are the 2 divisions of Realism?
1) Classical Realism
2) Neorealism/ Structural Realism
What is Classical Realism?
1) States want power because of human nature
2) Constantly looking for opportunities to take the offensive to dominate other states
3) “Human Nature Realism”
What is Thucydides’ (395-460BC) definition of Classical Realism?
1) Man is a ‘political animal’
2) States are like animals, different in size and power
3) Strive for power and wish to dominate others
What is Machiavelli’s (1469-1527) definition of Classical Realism?
1) Power (Lion) and deception (Fox) are essential means for Foreign Policy
2) Ruler should seek advantage to defend its interests to ensure survival
3) Ruler must be Lion, cunning and ruthless
4) Ruler must not act according to ethics
What is Hobbes’ (1588-1679) definition of Classical Realism?
1) System is anarchic
2) Permanent ‘state of war’
3) War inevitable to survive
What is Morgenthau’s (1904-1980) definition of Classical Realism?
1) Man and woman are born to pursue power
2) Lust for power
3) Lust brings about conflict
What is Neorealism/ Structural Realism?
Believes states want power NOT because of human nature but because of the structure of the international state system
What are the 2 things Neorealists/ Structural Realists want to know about the world?
1) How many great powers are there in the world?
2) How is power distributed among the great powers?
What do the 2 things Neorealists/ Structural Realists want to know about the world explain?
They explain:
1) Conflict
2) Arm raises
3) Alliances
4) War between countries
What are the 2 types of Neorealism/ Structural Realism?
1) Defensive Realism
2) Offensive Realism
What is Defensive Realism?
1) Believe states only want to obtain enough power to ensure survival
2) Aggressive in seeking power = Worse off
What is Offensive Realism?
1) Believes states want to get as much power as they can to achieve Regional Hegemon
2) “power is the best way to ensure survival”
What are the 4 points of summary for Classical Realism?
1) Politics have roots in human nature
2) Interests determine political conduct
3) Interests defined in terms of power
4) Realism rejects the legalistic-moralistic approach to International Politics
What is the first principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
1) Politics is governed by objective laws that have roots in human nature
What is the second principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
2) The importance of the concept of interest is defined in terms of power
What is the third principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
3) The concept’s meaning is not fixed once and for all
What is the fourth principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
4) The moral significance of political action?
What is the fifth principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
5) Political Realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the moral laws that govern the universe
What is the sixth principle of Morgenthau’s Six principles of Political Realism?
6) The difference between political realism and other school of thoughts is real and profound
What is the topic for Thucydides, the Melian Dialogue?
The Athenians want to persuade the Melians to give in before they conquer them by force
What are the main arguments of the Melian Dialogue?
1) Might makes right
2) Justice and God
3) Reliability of alliances
What was the choice of the Melians?
They would try to save themselves
What was the outcome for the Melians?
They surrendered unconditionally with huge casualties
Why is Realist thinking useful in ‘The World wants you to think like a Realist’ by Waltz?
1) To understand the contemporary world
2) To understand why states act similarly
3) Act with a degree of prudence
What is Realism in ‘The World wants you to think like a Realist’ by Waltz?
1) Tries to explain what world politics really are
2) Key is who has power and what they are doing with it
3) States are key actors and they rely on itself to survive
4) Security is a perennial concern
5) Cooperation is fragile
