A) Offensive realism says states should try to maximize their power, pursue hegemony, and that power is the only way to survive. Power to offensive realist’s means that states know other states rely on them and they can make alliances that benefit them. Power also comes with fear that anarchy creates, which then states ultimately use self-help in order to survive because they all just want more power than the next guy. Defensive realism thinks states shouldn’t maximize their power and that power will only mean punishment if they receive too much because states will want to balance the power. Defensive realists also want to avoid hegemony because defending is better than attacking and hegemony would just lead to constant fighting. The main goal …show more content…
In Morgenthau’s “Politics among Nation’s”, his main point is that survival is a national interest, and survival comes from power; therefore, the national interest is power. Morgenthau further mentions the balance of power which means that if states were to strive for more and more power, then they will get further away from their goal of survival. Morgenthau has even said, “…that the balance of power and policies aiming at its preservation are not only inevitable but are an essential stabilizing factor ill a society of sovereign nations..”. Morgenthau is saying that the balance of power is crucial for the survival of these nation states. Morgenthau also mentions an equilibrium in order to talk about the balancing of powers. Morgenthau said “that without a state of equilibrium among them one element will gain ascendancy over the others, encroach upon their interests and rights, and may ultimately destroy them.” This is exactly what defensive realists are all about, that if a state receives too much power, the system is ultimately going to try and balance themselves out and will most likely lead to conflict or war. Morgenthau also mentions how power and social life are connected, he almost has a constructivist approach (conflict or cooperation based on one’s social/historical norms) to it. Morgenthau thought that social norms about order and power will either result in conflict if the norms are weak or cooperation if the norms are strong. For example, we can relate this to the game stag hunt as an analogy, Morgenthau would agree that if there is a way for two states to cooperate, they will ultimately get the best outcome. He would say a close community will want to help others and cooperating is in everybody’s interest. Morgenthau argues that if the international system has a strong sense of community then the balance of power will keep peace. Without a strong knit community, the
...dens the understanding of international relations and correspondingly broadens the understanding of security. Built on Thayer’s and Waltz’s theory, the paper suggests that structure of the international system is central to international security and to achieve peace, suitable strategies are necessary to balance the power relations. While it should not be ignored that the Evolution theory still falls within realism realm with many other forms of complex security problems unexplained.
There are thousands of years of history that have taken place. History is not like art(less subjective), but there is still plenty of room for speculation, criticism, and debate among historians, professors, as well as average citizens. However, not all these moments are documented, or done successfully specifically. Some of these moments end up becoming movies, books, or even historical fiction novels, but what about those fundamental moments that aren’t readily documented? In the book The Birth of Modern Politics Lynn Hudson Parsons claims that the 1828 election was momentous in the history of both political history, as well as our nation. Parsons not only discusses the behind the scenes of the first public election of 1828, but the pivotal events in Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams’ lives leading up to the election as well. Parsons succeeds in proving her thesis that the 1828 election was crucial to American politics as we know it today, as well as provoking evidence from various sources with her own logic and opinions as well.
Mearsheimer tends to realism, and therefore, diminishes the importance of culture and seeking forof identity in the modern world, and emphasizes the importance of nation states, great powers, self-help and the race chase for power. Much before him, Fouad Ajami (Ajami, The summoning:'But they said, we will not hearken, 1993) criticized Huntington:. “Civilizations do not control states…states control civilizations”. States try to balance power, and Huntington himself admits in his article that “nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs”. (Huntington S. P., 2011, p. 34)
The establishment of the discipline’s discourse did not firmly cement its foundational concepts. As such, various forms, such as the balance between great powers and super power, appeared and further fractured its theoretical base. Jack S. Levy (2004) writes that “some say a balance of power helps maintain the peace; others say it contributes to the onset of wa...
Realism is a theory that strives on competition between states. It is one of the oldest theory and it is also known as political realism. It is
Realists disregard the fact that moral values guide ones foreign policy. They also believe that even though one might deceive themselves about considering democracy and morals, the matter of the fact is that people will always put their self-interest before anything else thus governments act upon things such as geopolitical, economic interests for example. According to realists, there is no higher authority to punish those countries that misbehave so a country can just do whatever it pleases.
middle of paper ... ... Unfortunately, this idea of a zero sum military power game does not match up with reality. Each state takes actions based on the given situation and neo-realism misses this nuance. Constructivism actually considers this more by analyzing the actors at play and their identities and interests.
Almost every conflict situation consists of one party having more power than the other. When the power differential is significant, this usually has a major effect on both the matter and process of the dispute. In order for the outcome of the conflict to be fair, both parties must be relatively equal when it comes to power if resolution of the conflict is to be fair. If one side is far more powerful than another, they are more likely to impose their solution on the weaker party, who in turn will be forced to acquiesce, because they have no other choice.
Classical realism focuses on the balance of power whereas the neorealist’s theory examines the balance of power as it relates to the structure of an overall system. Realists examine “human nature at the individual level, aggressive states at the domestic level, leaders pursuing domestic and international power at the foreign policy level, and the balance of power at the systemic level” (Nau, 2012, p. 10); and, further argues that polarity between powers...
The first paradigm of international relations is the theory of Realism. Realism is focused on ideas of self-interest and the balance of power. Realism is also divided into two categories, classical realism and neo-realism. Famous political theorist, Hans Morgenthau was a classical realist who believed that national interest was based on three elements, balance of power, military force, and self interest (Kleinberg 2010, 32). He uses four levels of analysis to evaluate the power of a state. The first is that power and influence are not always the same thing. Influence means the ability to affect the decision of those who have the power to control outcomes and power is the ability to determine outcomes. An example of influence and power would be the UN’s ability to influence the actions of states within the UN but the state itself has the power to determine how they act. Morgenthau goes on to his next level of analysis in which he explains the difference in force and power in the international realm. Force is physical violence, the use of military power but power is so much more than that. A powerful state can control the actions of another state with the threat of force but not actually need to physical force. He believed that the ability to have power over another state simply with the threat of force was likely to be the most important element in analysis the power of as state (Kleinberg 2010, 33-34).
Created by Gideon Rose in the late 1990s, Neoclassical Realism combines the Classical Realist and Neorealist theories, specifically Defensive Realism. This new form of Realism is an addition to Waltz’s model of Neorealism, which fails to explain foreign policy. Rose describes the theory in his 1998 article titled Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy: “It explicitly incorporates both external and internal variables… The scope and ambition of a country's foreign policy is driven first and foremost by its place in the international system and specifically by its relative material power capabilities. This is why it is realist. The impact of such power capabilities on foreign policy is indirect and complex, because systemic pressures must be translated through intervening variables at the unit level. This is why [it] is neoclassical” (Rose
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
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.
The balance of power is closer with first great debate. The realists also diverge on some issues. So-called offensive Realists maintain that, in order to ensure survival, States will seek to maximize their power relative to others (Mearsheimer 2001). If rival countries possess enough power to threaten a State, it can never be safe. The hegemony is thus the best strategy for a country to pursue, if it can. Defensive Realists, in contrast, believe that domination is an unwise strategy for State survival. They note that seeking hegemony may bring a State into dangerous conflicts with its peers. Instead, defensive Realists emphasize the stabi...
Any system in the world or the world as a whole is either in a state of hierarchy or anarchy. It is believed by realists that hierarchy will maintain the peace because it is in the interest of the people running it. However, anarchy may trigger war to occur. Following with the first deduction, any structural anarchy balance of power will to some extent be a balance of conflict. There will always be clashes among units or states over power maximization and/or resource scarcity. Every state will make an attempt to maximize its power to the limits of its ability. They do this in order to gain access to the resources that are critical to the security in a given system. Resources such as cyber information, territory, economic resources, army, navy, etc. With the creation of a competitive situation, instability and war can be the outcome of this conflict. Every state tries to expand its power by expanding its resources. However, resource scarcity makes the attempt of resource expansion unattainable. Any decision maker should take into account the possibility that even a stable balance of power can turn