Realism is one of the oldest and most popular theories in International Relations. It offers a perspective about competition and power, and can be used to explain the actions between states. An example of realism is the U.S. reaction – or lack thereof – during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
All branches of realism share some central tenets. Realists believe that the world exists in a state of anarchy. Since there is not a world government to keep states from attacking each other, or to punish them when they do, it becomes very important for each government to be able to protect itself and ensure its survival. It is also why states are considered the most important actors in realism. Due to the anarchy, the world operates in power is extremely important. If a state has military power, and to a lesser extent economic power, they are able to defend themselves and even influence other states. Realism stresses the importance of one state being more powerful than its competitors.
In realism, states are seen as rational, unitary actors. Realists assume that the actions of a state are representative of the entire state’s population, disregarding political parties, individuals, or domestic conflict within the state (Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2010). Any action a state takes is in an effort to pursue national interest. National interest is “the interest of a state overall (as opposed to particular political parties or factions within the state)” (qtd. in Goldstein and Pevehouse, 2010, p. 355). If a state is rational, they are capable of performing cost-benefit analysis by weighing the cost against the benefit of each action. This assumes that all states have complete information when making choices (Goldstein & Pe...
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....S. sent troops to Rwanda, U.S. troops would have died. Some would argue that it would have been worth it, however, to save thousands of more lives.
Works Cited
Baldauf, S. (2009). Why the US didn't intervene in the Rwandan genocide. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2009/0407/p06s14-woaf.html [Accessed: 21 Feb 2014].
Goldstein, J. S. & Pevehouse, J. C. (2011). International relations. Boston: Longman.
Gordon, M. & Friedman, T. (1993). Details of U.S. raid in Somalia: success so near, a loss so deep. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/25/world/details-of-us-raid-in-somalia-success-so-near-a-loss-so-deep.html [Accessed: 21 Feb 2014].
United Human Rights Council. (2014). Genocide in Rwanda. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm [Accessed: 21 Feb 2014].
...heories outlined in this paper. One of the defining principles of realism is that the state is paramount to anything else, including morality. Realists argue that deviation from the state interests in an anarchic system creates vulnerability. Morality of state theorists uphold state sovereignty and argue that intervention is not permissible unless the circumstances are crass and warrant action. They talk about aggression as the only crime that one state can commit to another and suggest that aggression should only be allowed as a retaliatory measure. Finally, cosmopolitans believe that morality can be achieved at the individual level and that morality can be somewhat universally applied. Non-realists do not support preemptive actions or intervention under almost any condition, and the criteria by which intervention is warranted aligns with the principles of justice.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
The basic concept of realism is that states pursue power. This power includes military resources. States look to go after war weapons. They may look to make alliances with states with strong military force. A state with strong military can aid the other state in defense against any foreign threat. This way, a state can be seen as powerful due to its alliance even if it does not have strong military force itself. Strong economy is another thing that can make a state powerful. Economic resources can be optimized through trade with other countries and with natural resources. Education is also an important asset in terms of economy because educated people have more potential to earn high salaries and serve the state better. Power can also be achieved in terms of geography. Location of a state can make it important and more states would want to keep good relations with it and ally with it. This again is only due to the fact that other states see some kind of benefit in this alliance. Realists believe that all states directly or indirectly seek this power and stability.
Realism, in philosophical terms, refers to the concept that there is a reality beyond our perception. This means that how we see things and what we believe about them has no impact on the nature of said things. For example an individual may see an object as blue and another see the same object to be red, this is merely a disagreement between both parties about how they should label the colour. This wouldn’t mean that both parties are discussing different objects, this shows that no matter what individual’s beliefs or thoughts on the real world are only ever approximations and do not accurately capture reality. (O’Brien, M and Yar, M, 2008)
Realism functions under the assumption that states are the only actors on the political stage, also known as statism (includes individualism). Additionally, the states work in a system of anarchy. By this it is meant that in the absence of a higher, trans-governmental and universally recognizable authority, as it is in the world, no rules exist or are followed in the international arena. The other assumption is that politics are driven by aspects of human behavior – numerous motivations such as the drive for power, will to dominate, self-interest and ambition (Lisinski).
A: If the United States took the warning seriously, they could have destroyed the Hutu weapon storages and left the Hutus without weapons. With lowered weapon supplies, the Hutus would never be able to kill so many Tutsis. Therefore, the Rwandan Genocide would never have happened if the United States took notice of the alert.
This paper is an overview for the movie Hotel Rwanda. The movie is set in 1994 which reflects the situation in Kigali, Rwanda where the genocide occurred between people with different tribes. The film by George Terry also shows whether the role played by the international organization which is United Nations (UN) is effective in order to control the conflict that has killed a lot of people and the concern of the world about the incident.
As an International Relations’ theory, realism has a long and complicated history whose roots can be traced back to the writings of the antique philosophers of Greece, Rome, and China. However, political realism increased in usage in the twentieth century after Edward Hellet Carr’s Twenty Years Crisis came to lead the rest of the schools of thought present in the field of International Relations. Soon, others joined Carr’s views: Schuman (1933), Nicolson (1939), Niebuhr (1940), Schwarzenberger (1941), Wight (1946), Morgenthau (1948), Kennan (1951), Butterfield (1953), and Waltz (1969). Realism emphasizes the fact that the states should rely on themselves in order to guarantee their own security in the anarchic international system. The hostile security interests and the changes in the balance of power will lead to conflicts. As for the term, although it is unsure where its origins lay, most scholars have agreed that either E.H. Carr, or Hans Morgenthau might have coined it (????).
The realist school is based on the thought that human nature is not perfectible. Human nature is viewed as evil and something that cannot be trusted or counted on. In order to have a successful society the citizens need to be controlled by a strong sovereign government. This strong government would be the only thing able enough to control human nature and the evils it produces. If a strong central government did not exist a state of chaos would be created by the people of the land. One of the leading philosophers of the realist school was Thomas Hobbes. He elaborated on many of the concepts of realism.
People’s ideas and assumptions about world politics shape and construct the theories that help explain world conflicts and events. These assumptions can be classified into various known theoretical perspectives; the most dominant is political realism. Political realism is the most common theoretical approach when it is in means of foreign policy and international issues. It is known as “realpolitik” and emphasis that the most important actor in global politics is the state, which pursues self-interests, security, and growing power (Ray and Kaarbo 3). Realists generally suggest that interstate cooperation is severely limited by each state’s need to guarantee its own security in a global condition of anarchy. Political realist view international politics as a struggle for power dominated by organized violence, “All history shows that nations active in international politics are continuously preparing for, actively involved in, or recovering from organized violence in the form of war” (Kegley 94). The downside of the political realist perspective is that their emphasis on power and self-interest is their skepticism regarding the relevance of ethical norms to relations among states.
Despite the emergence of alternative approaches, realism remains the dominant theoretical perspective towards world politics. Realism is the traditional path that emphasizes the centrality of the state on the world stage and the pursuit of national self-interest above all else. Realism tends to be extremely pessimistic, hence the influencers of realism: Thomas Hobbes and Hans Morgenthau believe that humans by nature are selfish, aggressive, violent, unlikely to change, and that conflict is inevitable. Why have people become like that? What are major predictions by realism? Why have states become that self-serving? All of the previously mentioned points must be pondered in order to better understand the role and approach of realism.
The idea of Realism says that a state’s behavior is driven by the desire to survive and become more powerful. Also, Realism emphasizing that foreign policy must be settled on national interest rather than moral and ideological ideas. Believing that the best idea to ensure survival is to have military security in order to maintain power. Which was commonly seen in the
Realism has a long history of being debated and is often referred to as part of the ''first great debate” within international politics. Realism is seen as a direct response to idealism and is also heavily criticised for being overly simplistic and somewhat irrelevant to modern world politics. However, like all theories of world politics, Realism is and can be used to explain current issues within international relations and does have valid points to make about such issues in modern society. This essay will explore the key assumptions of Realism (statism, security and self-help)and put them into context of wider world politics examples to assess whether Realist values are suited to analyse contemporary politics or whether the Realist values are being challenged by new ideas and changes in the international system. There are many changes which have come about that may challenge the core values of Realism such as Globalization, a decrease in war/conflict or formations of higher bodies such as the EU.
Realism and realist theory lay primary focus on anarchy, power and fear and try to explain conflicts and why war occur. There are several different realistic approaches that you have in security studies. They are classical realism, neorealism and defensive structural realism and offensive structural realism who is developed from neorealism, and you have neoclassical realism. Although there are different realistic approaches they all have same view that relations between states has not changed. That states behavior is driven by their leaders or by unpleasant mandate by an anarchical international system. Because humans are often selfish, their desire for power, and seek for security and to be secure, that
To begin with, it is necessary to highlight that one ruling principle of realism supports the argument that, ‘states exist in an international system that is characterized by competition and war’ . This principle helps understanding some of the states’ motivations to preserve their integrity and national interests. At the same time, it permits to comprehend why security is so important when it comes to defending the growth and development of the state. Hence, one might think that under the scope of realism, the st...