Post on 24-Feb-2016
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Fundamentals of Realism• Statism• Survival• Self-help
Statism – sovereignty and force internally State = main
actor, possessing sovereignty
1st move of a state behaving as a realist:
Est. a monopoly of legitimate use of violence
Statism – sovereignty and force externally The basis of order
are missing internationally
States compete for: Power and security
2nd move of the state:
Gain power internationally
Statism and the Realist Definition of Power Two primary points
that realists make: Power is a relational
concept Power is a relative
concept Extremely difficult to
assess/measure – too often is reduced to armies, bombs, etc.
Criticisms of How realists define Power Several key
unanswered questions (p. 94)
Neorealists (Waltz) have responded by shifting the focus from power to capabilities New way of
ranking/measuring
Other criticisms re: def. of power A more
sophisticated approach: Define as the
ability of a state to control or influence its environment in situations that are not necessarily conflictual
Are states really the only important actor?
Survival Survival/security is
the key precondition to achieve all other goals
Contention among neorealists: Are states power- or
security- maximizers? Debate between
offensive and defensive realists
Survival N. Machiavelli –
aim of The Prince 2 key Machiavellian
themes (based on idea of dual morality) Understand the
real nature of int’l pol.
Protect the state at all costs
Ethic of responsibility
Self-help Waltz;
comparison between the structure of int’l and domestic politics
Int’l system; no higher authority to prevent violence – security is gained only through self-help
Self-Help - Security dilemma Leaders will question:
are those military preparations offensive or defensive in nature?
Change of status quo? Trust? Perpetual build up of
arms – self-defeating, ironic
Balance of power will: naturally emerge, or is it deliberately
constructed?
Self-Help – Balance of Power Unipolarity,
Multipolarity As the balances
inevitably collapse, states try to mitigate the worst consequences of the security dilemma, but can’t escape it
Analogy of the stag hunt