IR Realism Theories PDF

TheoriesDrinJovanie International Camacho Espesor Department of Political Science Relations Mindanao State University, General Santos City, Philippines Theories in International D R J O VA N...

TheoriesDrinJovanie International Camacho Espesor Department of Political Science Relations Mindanao State University, General Santos City, Philippines Theories in International D R J O VA N I E C A M A C H O Relations ESPESOR REALISM Dr Jovanie Camacho Espesor D e p a r t m e n t o f Po l i t i c a l S c i e n c e M i n d a n a o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y, G e n e r a l S a n t o s C i t y, Philippines  Realism It aspires to be supra-historical, explaining in all epochs that fundamental features of international politics: conflict and war.  Emerging in the 1930s, realism polemical target was the progressive, reformist optimism connected with liberal internationalists (i.e. Woodrow Wilson)  Against this optimism, realism comported a more pessimistic outlook which was felt to be necessary in the tragic realm of international politics. Polemical target of realists ‘President Woodrow Wilson led the United States into World War One, promising to make the world safe for democracy. Advocating liberal internationalism, he called for collective security and national self- determination. He wanted democratic states to create the League of Nations as a partnership for peace in a new world order’  Long tradition of political thought  Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes: point of departure is the study of conflict and power politics  Conflict is inevitable, even necessary in international politics.  When disputes cannot be resolved peacefully or diplomatically, force and ultimately war, is decisive means of settling matters.  On morality: It does not abandon morality altogether, but it does extol a morality specific to the state (raison d’etat or reason of state) and statesman (ethics of responsibility). So although rejects realism morality as the starting point for the theory and practice of IR, it does not eschew morality altogether. Classical Realism Classical Realism Martin Wight (1950s): anarchy, power politics and warfare Key tenets of realism: the concepts of anarchy and the historical supposition that international relations are unavoidably shaped by power politics and war. History of the 'The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must.’ Peloponnesian War Imperial Athenian: 'might is right’ [justice only existed between equals]  The Prince Machiavelli  A cyclical conception of history based on a recurrent nexus of necessity, chance and human decision.  Using a modern expression, international relations are conceived as a ‘realm of recurrence and repetition where political action is most regularly necessitous’ (Wight 1966, 26).  Autonomy of politics from other realms of human action, most especially its ultimate independence from morality and law. Politics has its own rules, and cannot be reduced to or contained by moral or legal rules since it must respond to the demands of necessity.  Primacy of political: conflict and competition for power are inevitable and irrepressible.  International politics free of ethical prescription (not idealised or utopian). Machiavelli – first important political realist (Carr 1946, 63-64) Deduces three essential realist tenets: 1. History is a sequence of cause and effect, whose course can be analysed and understood by intellectual effort, but not… directed by imagination. 2. Theory does not create practice…, but practice theory. 3. (most contentious of all) morality is the product of power. Leviathan – state of nature Hobbes – international relations are thus a state of war  Absence of an overarching sovereign power.  Sovereign states do not recognise any other higher authority above themselves.  Consequence: absence of a world government  First, nothing can impede the normal recurrence of war  Second, states are responsible for their own preservation.  Politics among nations (1948) Hans J. Morgenthau (German-Jew) Nitzschean sentiment: Morgenthau conceded ‘the tragic presence of evil in all political action’ and ‘the lust for power manifests itself as the desire to maintain the range of one’s own person with regards to others, to increase it, or to demonstrate it. o Stress the corrupting and pervasive influence of power on human relations, including international relations. o Places power at the centre of the political universe, declaring: ‘International politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power’.  'Eternal’ quest for security Raymond Aron (1966) o In the context of international anarchy security is one of the interests. o As in the state of nature, self-help is the only certain means to the uncertain end of self-preservation or survival. o Since sovereign states do not recognise any other higher authority, nothing other than states themselves can prevent, or counter, the use of force in their relations. o It is only through the balance of power that states, alone or through alliances, can check the power of other states. It can also preserve a state’s independent existence from threat, aggression and hegemony. oBalance of power: the only real means of achieving common security. Diplomacy Aron, Wight, Kissinger and Kennan o The art of communication and negotiation between powers. o Cultural and ideological factors matter because states that belong to the same type and share common policy goals prefer resolving disputes through the work of trusted diplomacy.  Morgenthau (1966): four tasks of diplomacy 1. Define its goals with a view to the power available for the pursuit of these goals; 2. Assess the goals and powers of other nations; 3. Determine the level of compatibility of these different goals; and 4. pursue the goals with appropriate means. Jonhsson (2018, 2) International Relations Theory and Diplomacy  Realist’s view of Diplomacy Diplomacy is the only defense against war – which is not seen as an anomaly – since to fail in any of these four tasks may jeopardize peace. In the realist understanding, diplomacy is included among, and is dependent on, other, more material capabilities; hence, it reflects state power. On the other hand, the quality of diplomacy may modify the value of other elements of state power. Thus, skilful diplomacy can increase the power of a nation beyond what one would expect it to be in view of other, material factors. Jonhsson (2018, 2) International Relations Theory and Diplomacy Structural or neorealism Offensive realism  Structural or neorealism o The basis of neorealism is a scientific method that systematises core doctrines of realist thought into a structural model of international relations. It is based more on economic theory and philosophy of science than on historical reflection. o By defining the structure of the international system, neorealism seeks to establish the autonomy of international politics. o At the system level, it is the fundamental structure of anarchy that shapes the behaviour of states or units, not their internal make-up. Kenneth Waltz (1979, 79) System = structure + interacting units The system is made up of three components: 1. ordering principle, sometimes called ‘deep structure’ (either hierarchy or anarchy) 2. differentiation of units according to their functions (in international relations the units (states) are functionally the same or undifferentiated – performing the same range of functions and concerned with security) 3. distribution of capabilities (how states stand in relation to one another, according to the power they can mobilise and the aggregation of power around one or more poles – unipolarity, bipolarity, multipolarity) Anarchy (Grieco 1990) It imposes mistrust and uncertainty on others’ intention, obstructing mutually advantageous cooperation in ‘soft’ dimensions like economics and trade. Interdependence produces not just amity, as liberals claim, but also, and more importantly, reciprocal vulnerability, according to neorealists. Offensive Realism Tragedy of great power politics John Mearsheimer (2001)- offensive realism o Great powers ‘are always searching for opportunities to gain power over their rivals’. o They are rarely satisfied and instead, seek to extend their hegemony. This implies that ultimate concern for states is not simply for security, but for maximising power. o Revisionist powers [in response to structural constraints]  What is realism? Synthesising theory and practice o The state as the main actor in world politics and the logic of anarchy as a dominant constraint in international relations. o Affirms two moral values: prudence and responsibility  State: Realist view Realism is primarily concerned with states as power and security-maximising actors in a context of international anarchy. Three key features of the state as understood by realism: 1. States posses sovereignty, the supreme authority to make and enforce laws. 2. States govern by exercising a monopoly over both internal and external instruments of legitimate violence (embodied in the police and armed forces respectively) 3. These sovereign organisations are territorial, partitioning the Earth by imposing both material and immaterial barriers between people (namely borders and citizenship respectively) Most powerful states make the rules and maintain the institutions that shape international life, including its economic and cultural dimensions, popularly known as globalisation.  Anarchy o In the absence of world government, however, security can be obtained through self-help. For this reason, survival in international relations is of paramount relevance and fear is a fundamental emotion because it is an indispensable emotion for survival. o Security dilemma: spiral of insecurity. o It means that providing for one’s own security can, often inadvertently, increase the sense of insecurity in other states. Military arrangements of one state, including ‘defensive’ ones are likely to be matched by other states, thereby creating a dangerous spiral that, paradoxically, leaves every state feeling even more insecure.  Anarchy o International anarchy breeds not only fear but also hostility among states. o Conflict is inevitable and may always reach the point of where war becomes a legitimate instrument for reaching a final decision. Prudence and responsibility Morgenthau (1973, 3-4) on the ‘lesser evil’ This being inherently a world of opposing interests and of conflict among them, moral principles can never be fully realised… [Realism] appeals to historic precedent rather than abstract principles, and aims at the realisation of the lesser evil rather than of the absolute good. Kennan (1996) on the amorality of reason of state They are the unavoidable necessities of a national existence and therefore not subject to classification as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Morgenthau (1973, 12) on prudence There can be no political morality without prudence; that is, without consideration of the political consequences of seemingly moral action. Realism, then, considers prudence… to be the supreme virtue in politics.