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One Realism, or many ?

There is no single tradition of political


realism, but rather a knot of historically
constituted tensions, contradictions,
and evasions. (Walker)
Different types of Realism:
Classical realism
Modern realism
Neorealism
I. The Classification of Realism

istorical Realism
Machiavelli is the leading classical exponent
of historical realism.

Machiavelli recognized the flux of political life


and he believed that change is a continuous
process.

Carr is the modern Machiavelli, advocating a


foreign policy which recognizes the interplay of
power and morality, consent and coercion.
b. Structural Realism I
Structural realism lineage begins with
Thucydides representation of power
politics as a law of human behaviour.
Morgenthau: politics, like society in
general, is governed by objective laws
that have their roots in human nature.
International politics is driven by
endless struggle for power which has
its roots in human nature.
Structural Realism II
The cause of conflict is based on
anarchic structure of the
international system.

Waltz: anarchy prevents states


from entering into cooperative
agreements to end the state of war.
Liberal Realism
Thomas Hobbes famous book,
Leviathan, include pessimistic
portrayal of human nature.

Hobbes believed that states are less


vulnerable than individuals in the
state of nature and states are able to
coexist with other sovereigns.
Statism
Max Weber: the monopoly of the
legitimate use of physical force within
a given territory.
Members of the political community
living inside the state to pursue the
good life. However, on the outside,
in the relations among independent
sovereign states, insecurities, threats.
Morgenthau: mans control over the
minds and actions of other men.
According to Realists;
power is a relational concept; one does
not exercise power in vacuum, but in
relation to another entity.
power is a relative concept;
calculations need to be made not only
about ones own power capabilities, but
about the power that other state actor
possess.
Waltz tries to overcome the problem
by shifting the focus from power to
capabilities.

Resource strength does not always


lead to military victory.
For instance; Six Day War (1967)
Realists argue that an open, free-
trade economic system depends on
the existence of a hegemon.
Survival
Survival is the precondition for
attaining all other goals.
Recent controversy among defensive
and offensive realists about states
are security or power maximizers.
Defensive realists states
have security as their principal
interest.
Offensive realists the
ultimate goal of all states is to
achieve a hegemonic position.
Henry Kissenger: a nations survival
is its first and ultimate responsibility;
it cannot be compromised or put to
risk.

An ethic of responsibility is frequently


used as a justification for breaking
the laws of war, as in the case of the
US decision to drop nuclear bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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