Realism Central Assumptions and Propositions
View of history - Repetitive (no progress) / Conflictual (focus on military power): World politics as history of great power war
Key actors - States
State Behavior: Self-interest
States as Rational Power-Seekers
Relative Gains / Zero-Sum Game
Game Theory / Prisoner’s Dilemma
Sources of Conflict
Structural (Neo)Realism: Anarchical system = self-help system
Classical Realism: Human Nature: Self-interested, desire for power
Realism: Policy Prescriptions
I) Balance Power:
Ignore culture, moral considerations in foreign policy; obey only dictates of maximizing your power relative to others. Human rights, etc. of other countries = none of our business.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Problems with balance of power
Which is more stable? Bipolar, multipolar, hegemony?
Difficulties in measuring power
“soft power”
Focus on military capabilities = worst case scenario, conduct foreign policy based on possibilities of threat
Criticism: We act usually on probabilities: intentions, common ideas, shared norms matter also
I) Power Balancing
II) Deterrence and Compellence: Threat / Use of Military Force
Deterrence = “DON’T!” (or else…)
Dissuade another from taking an action by threat of punishment
E.g., Nuclear strategy: don’t attack or you will be destroyed in retaliation
E.g., China to Taiwan: don’t declare independence
Can explain, e.g.: Why did Iraq not use CW during Gulf War of 1991?
Often wrong as description or explanation:
Human nature more complex: not just narrow material self-interest, but moral & self-defeating impulses (hatred, envy).
E.g., Hitler attacking USSR, nuclear proliferation (Germany, Japan, etc.), NATO in Kosovo
Does not account for peaceful & progressive change
E.g., desuetude of great power war, Democratic Peace, human rights (arrest of Pinochet, Milosevic, etc.), end of Cold War, abolition of slave trade, etc.
View of history - Repetitive (no progress) / Conflictual (focus on military power): World politics as history of great power war
Key actors - States
State Behavior: Self-interest
States as Rational Power-Seekers
Relative Gains / Zero-Sum Game
Game Theory / Prisoner’s Dilemma
Sources of Conflict
Structural (Neo)Realism: Anarchical system = self-help system
Classical Realism: Human Nature: Self-interested, desire for power
Realism: Policy Prescriptions
I) Balance Power:
Ignore culture, moral considerations in foreign policy; obey only dictates of maximizing your power relative to others. Human rights, etc. of other countries = none of our business.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Problems with balance of power
Which is more stable? Bipolar, multipolar, hegemony?
Difficulties in measuring power
“soft power”
Focus on military capabilities = worst case scenario, conduct foreign policy based on possibilities of threat
Criticism: We act usually on probabilities: intentions, common ideas, shared norms matter also
I) Power Balancing
II) Deterrence and Compellence: Threat / Use of Military Force
Deterrence = “DON’T!” (or else…)
Dissuade another from taking an action by threat of punishment
E.g., Nuclear strategy: don’t attack or you will be destroyed in retaliation
E.g., China to Taiwan: don’t declare independence
Can explain, e.g.: Why did Iraq not use CW during Gulf War of 1991?
Often wrong as description or explanation:
Human nature more complex: not just narrow material self-interest, but moral & self-defeating impulses (hatred, envy).
E.g., Hitler attacking USSR, nuclear proliferation (Germany, Japan, etc.), NATO in Kosovo
Does not account for peaceful & progressive change
E.g., desuetude of great power war, Democratic Peace, human rights (arrest of Pinochet, Milosevic, etc.), end of Cold War, abolition of slave trade, etc.
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