REALISM

Jonathan Haslam

Realism is a spectrum of ideas which revolve around the four central propositions of Political
Groupism, Egoism, International Anarchy and Power Politics.

I. Theory of Power Politics

Core Assumptions:

1) People are essentially selfish and competitive, meaning that egoism is the defining
characteristic of human nature.
2) State-System operates in a context of international anarchy, in that there is no authority
higher than the sovereign state.

Egoism:

1) Concern for ones own interest or wellbeing or selfishness

2) Belief that ones own interests are morally to those of others

II. Realist Theory

1) States are:
(i) The most important actor on the world stage
(ii) Answers to no higher authority i.e. sovereign (supreme power) over its territory
and populace
(iii) No other actor above them can wield its legitimacy or coercive capability to
govern the global system.
2) World politics is viewed as:
(i) Ceaseless
(ii) Repetitive struggle for power where strong dominates the weak
(iii) Inherently a constant possibility of war
3) International Anarchy can lead even well intentioned leaders to practice self-help i.e.
increasing the military strength and opportunistically aligning with others to deter
potential threats.
4) The possibility of rival powers cooperating on arms control or other security issues of
common interests cannot be precluded.
5) Asserts that cooperation will be rare because states worry about:
(i) Unequal distribution of relative gains (result from cooperation to disadvantage of
one of the parties)
(ii) Possibility that other states will cheat on agreements.
Machiavelli

People in general are ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful, eager to avoid dangers and avid for gain,
and while you are useful to them they are all with you, offering you their blood, their property,
and their sons so long as danger is remote, but when it approaches they turn on you.

6) Obligation of every state- the goal to which all other national objectives should be
subordinated- is to promote its national interest and to acquire power for this purpose,
Might makes right
7) A states philosophical or ethical preferences are neither good nor bad. What matters is
whether they serve its self-interest.

Thucydides

The standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel.the strong do what they
have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.

8) Struggle for power i.e. according Thomas Hobbes a war of all against all- and the
possibility of eradicating the instinct for power is a hopeless utopian aspiration.
9) Self-Help can lead to security dilemma i.e. as a state builds up its power to protect itself;
others inevitably become threatened and are likely to respond in kind. Arms race is one
common manifestation of security dilemma.
10) If all states seek to maximize power, stability will result by maintaining a balance of
power, facilitated by shifts in:
(i) Formation of alliances
(ii) Decay of opposing alliances to counter each others expansionist moves
11) Policies are driven by strategic imperatives that may require national leaders to disregard
moral norms i.e. actions that are dictated by national interest must be carried out no
matter how repugnant they might seem in light of private morality.

Krauthammer 1993

Ignoring ones interest, squandering ones resources in fits of altruism, argues a prominent
realist, is the fastest road to national disaster. For a national leader, thinking with ones
heart is a serious offence. Foreign Policy is not social work.

III. Classification of Realism and Realists

1) Famous Realists:

(i) Niccolo Machiavelli

Born in May 1469, he was an Italian historian, diplomat, philosopher and writer during
the Renaissance era.
 His masterpiece publication was The Prince written in 1513 where Machiavellianism, a
widely used negative term was coined, to characterize the politicians as described by
Machiavelli in his publication.
The term Machiavellian is often associated with deceit, deviousness, ambition and
brutality.
He died in June 1527.

(ii) Thomas Hobbes

Born in April 1588, he was an English philosopher.
Renowned for his famous work in 1651, Leviathan.
He is known as champion of absolutism for the sovereign.
He died in December 1679.

(iii) Hans Morgenthau

Born in February 1904, he was the leading 20 th century figure in the study of
international politics.
His famous work is Politics among Nations released in 1948.
According to Morgenthau, Politics is a struggle for power over men and whatever its
ultimate aim maybe, power is its immediate goal and the modes of acquiring, maintaining
and demonstrating it determine the technique of political action.
He advocated emphasis on realistic diplomacy, based on an analysis of balance of
power and the need to the national interest.
His six principles are as follows:
1. Politics are governed by objective laws that have its roots in human roots.
2. Interest is defined in terms of power.
3. Interest defined as power is an objective category which is universally valid, but
whose meaning can change.
4. Universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of states in the abstract.
5. Moral laws that govern the universe are distinct for the morals of any one nation.
6. Difference between political realism and other schools is real and profound.
He strongly opposed the US role in Vietnam War.
He died in July 1980.

(iv) Kenneth Waltz

He was an American political scientist born in June 1924.
His famous work: Man, the State and War.
He is the founder of Neo-realism also known as structural realism
He argues that the world exists in a state of perpetual international anarchy.
 He further argues that the interaction of sovereign states can be explained by the
pressures exerted on them by the anarchic structure of the international system, which
limits and constrains their choices.
According to Waltz, nuclear proliferation would increase the probability of international
peace.
He died in May 2013.

2) Variants of Contemporary Realism:

(i) Classical Realism

Primary Objective of State: Varies e.g. Power, Glory, Security

Systemic Pressure: Defensive or Offensive

Rational State Preference: Status Quo or Revisionist

Classical Realism explains about the human nature i.e. selfishness, egoism and relates it
to the power politics. The fundamental aspects of human nature is to drive for power and
dominate others.
(ii) Offensive Realism

Primary Objective of State: Survival

Systemic Pressure: Offensive

Rational State Preference: Revisionist (hegemons accepted)

States will seek to maximize power relative to others.

Rival countries can never be safe even by possessing enough to threaten a State.
Hegemony is thus the best strategy for a country to pursue, if it can.
(iii) Defensive Realism

Primary Objective of State: Survival

Systemic Pressure: Defensive

Rational State Preference: Status Quo

Domination is an unwise strategy for survival of the State and seeking hegemony can
result into dangerous conflicts between the States with its peers.
Therefore Polarity (distribution of power amongst the Great Powers) is a key concept.

IV. Limitations and Criticism

 Seeking security by amassing power is self-defeating
The quest for absolute security by one state would be perceived as creating absolute
insecurity for other members of the system, with the result that everyone would
become locked in an upward spiral of countermeasures that jeopardized the security
of all. (Vasquez 1998)
Realism offered no criteria for determining what historical data were significant in
evaluating its claims and what epistemological rules to follow when interpreting relevant
information (Vasquez and Elman 2003)
Realism did not account for significant new developments in world politics e.g. new
commercial and political institutions in Western Europe 1950s and 1960s.
Classic realism presents a negative image of human nature.
If human nature can explain only war and dispute, then how to explain peace and
cooperation.
It is insufficient in the changing world and is a more problem oriented theory rather than
presenting solutions to global problems.
V. Summarize
1. All nation states are motivated by national interests. At best national interests are
disguised as moral concerns.
2. Realism seeks to preserve political autonomy and territorial integrity of nation states is
not to be compromised.
3. Once basic interests are secured, national interests may take different forms i.e.
expansion of economic & political systems, securing resources and lands.
4. National interest must be defined in terms of power and national power has an absolute
meaning that can be defined in terms of military, economic, political, diplomatic or even
cultural resources.
5. For a realist, power is a relative term, i.e. no standard is set for defining power of the state
and is more of a competition among other states.
6. Realist conception of international system is anarchical environment i.e. all states have to
rely on their own resources to secure their interests.
7. Realist tries to describe politics in a rational manner, not on basis of morality, but there is
no universally acceptable definition of power for a realist.
8. Realists think there is a constant struggle for power as power is the ultimate aim for all
states which is not the case necessarily.
9. Essentials of realism include: Statism i.e. State is principal actor; Survival i.e. power is
end in itself and survival is the precondition to other objectives of the state and Self Help
i.e. realism rejects notion of peaceful co-existence because non intervention is impossible
to achieve and its difficult for states to trust others.
10. Criticism on Realism