8/24/2018 Morgenthau’s Realist Theory (6 Principles)

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Morgenthau’s Realist Theory (6

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Morgenthau has explained six principles of his Realist Theory. These together
constitute the essence of his Political Realism.

I. First Principle:

Politics is governed by Objective Laws which have roots in Human Nature:

The first principle of political realism holds that “politics, like society in general, is
governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature.” It is as such
necessary to understand these laws and build a rational theory of international politics.
“These laws cannot be refuted and challenged. Taking these as the basis, we can
formulate a rational theory of International Politics; Political Realism believes that
international politics operates on the basis of certain objective laws.”

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8/24/2018 Morgenthau’s Realist Theory (6 Principles)

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Facts of Human Nature:

For knowing the objective laws of human nature, we must analyze the facts of human
relations. Human nature is fairly constant and therefore a review of the history of
human relations and actions can help us to know these objective laws. These can be
then used for evaluating the nature of relations. History of human relations can provide
us facts for understanding politics. This review however, must be empirical as well as
logical. This dual test alone can lead us to formulate a rational and valid theory of
politics.

As such, the first principle of Morgenthau’s Realist Theory of International Politics

holds that politics is governed by some objective laws which have their roots in human
nature. By understanding these objective laws, we can understand and study
International Politics. For knowing these objective laws we have to study the history of
human relations. Through this an empirical and rational theory of foreign policy can be
formulated which can guide the actions of states in international relations.

II. Second Principle:

National Interest defined in terms of National Power:

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2. (i) The master key and the core of Morgenthau’s Realism is its second principle. This
principle holds that nations always define and act for securing their national interests
by means of power.

“The main sign-post that helps political realism to find its way through the landscape of
international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power. This concept
provides the link between reason trying to understand international politics and the
facts to be understood.” —Morgenthau

It is this aspect which highlights the autonomous character of International Politics.

Nations always try to secure the goals of their interests which are always defined in
terms of power.

2. (ii) National Interest is always secured by the use of National Power. Each nation
conceptualizes its national interests in terms of power and then acts to secure these by
means of power. History fully supports this view. A national interest not backed by
power exists only on paper and in imagination. The only correct way to conceptualize
and define national interest is in terms of power.

History tells us that nations have always acted on the basis of power. Foreign policy-
makers always regard power as the central fact of politics. Foreign policy decisions
makers always formulate policies on its basis. Political realism assumes that “statesmen
think and act in terms of interest defined as power, and the evidence of history bears
out this assumption.” This principle helps us to analyze realistically all steps that state-
men have taken or are going to take in future.

2(iii) Little concern with Motives and Ideological Preferences. Political realism avoids
two popular fallacies in respect of the behaviour of statesmen. These are:
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(a) The concern with motives, and

(b) The concern with ideological preferences.

2. (a) Little concern with Motives. A study of foreign policy through a study of the
motives of the statesmen is bound to be futile and deceptive. It would be futile because
motives are most deceptive and distorted by the interests and emotions of both the
actor and the observer. These are frequently beyond recognition. Further, history tells
us that there is no exact and necessary correlation between the quality of motives and
quality of foreign policy.

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There are many instances which reveal that good motives have very often led to wrong
and unsuccessful policies. Neville Chamberlains policy of appeasement was definitely
inspired by a good motive—to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War, however,
it failed. On the other hand, Winston Churchill’s policies were based upon national
interest and power, and were more successful in actual operation.

Political realism does not give much weightage to motives of the statesmen. On the
other hand it seeks to judge their actions on the basis of actual performance towards
the securing of goals of national interest of their nations.

2(b) Little concern with Ideology. Political realism rejects the fallacy of equating the
foreign policy of a statesman with ideological or philosophical or political sympathies of
the statesman. Ideology is very often used as a cover or a smoke-screen to cover actions
which are nationalistic and designed to secure or increase national power. A faith in the

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ideological preferences of the statesman as the basis for judging the actions of the state,
is bound to be misleading.

Sino-Soviet conflict of 1955-65 was not really an ideological conflict, as it appeared to

be. On the contrary it was a conflict of interests between these two communist states.
The basis for the origin of Sino-Soviet conflict was neither the clash of ideologies nor
the personalities of Mao and Khrushchev. It was really a clash of interests in world
politics.

This also applied to the cold war conflict between the USA and the erstwhile USSR. It
was basically a clash of interests with certain outward ideological manifestations.
Chinese foreign policy always declares itself to be a policy of peaceful coexistence but in
reality it has been a policy for expanding the influence (power) of China in world
politics.

2(iv) National Interest and National Power as the Determinants of Foreign Policy. No
doubt personality of the statesman, his ideas and prejudices do have some impact on
the nature of foreign policy, yet in the main, the foreign policy of a nation is always
based upon considerations of national interest conceived in terms of national power. A
rational theory of foreign policy seeks to present a theory based upon experience and
actual facts and not upon motives and ideological preferences.

Political realism is not totally opposed to political motives and moral principles in
international relations. It accepts that these play a role in international relations.
However, it regards national interest and national power as the key determinants of all
decisions and policies. In it, the approach is that of a photographer who photographs
whatever he actually sees and not of a painter who imagines the pose and paints the
portrait.

The second principle of Morgenthau’s Realist Theory is projected as the master key to
international politics.

“It imposes intellectual discipline upon the observer, infuses rational order into the
subject-matter of politics and thus makes the theoretical understanding of politics
possible.” —Morgenthau

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The concept of ‘interest’ defined in terms of ‘power’ carries political realism into the
arena of international politics and guides the path of the researchers.

III. Third Principle:

Interest is always Dynamic:

Political realism believes in the universal validity of the concept of interest defined in
terms of power. The policies and actions of a nation are always governed by national
interest. The idea of national interest is the essence of politics and is unaffected by the
circumstances of time and place.

However, the content of national interest is always changing in nature and scope. It is
not static. It changes with changes in political and social environment. National
interest is dynamic and has to be continuously analyzed for examining the policies and
actions of a state. The kind of interest which determines political action in a particular
period of history depends upon the political and cultural context within which a foreign
policy is formulated.

The same observation applies to the concept of power. The national power of a nation is
always dynamic and it changes with the changes in environment in which it operates
for securing national interests. For example, security has been always a primary part of
India’s national interest but the nature of security that India has been trying to secure
from time to time has been changing. Similarly, the national power of India has all also
been dynamic.

As such, national interest defined in terms of national power has to be repeatedly and
continuously analyzed for realistically analyzing the course of international relations.
Political realism stands for understanding the nature of international relations through
a continuous and regular analysis of the factors of national power and national interest
which always determine the nature and scope of relations among nations.

IV. Fourth Principle:

Abstract Moral Principles cannot be applied to Politics:

Political realism realizes the importance of moral principles but holds that in their
abstract and universal formulations these cannot be applied to state actions. The moral
significance of political action is undisputed but the universal moral principles cannot
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be applied to the actions of states, unless these are analyzed in the light of specific
conditions of time and space. Moral principles do not determine policies and actions of
states. These are simply a source of some influence.

Realism believes that states are not expected to observe the same standards of morality
as are binding upon and observed by men. The individual can say for himself, “Let
justice be done even if the whole world perishes”, but the state has no right to say so. A
state cannot sacrifice the liberty or security or other fundamental national interests for
following moral principles. Politics is not ethics and the ruler is not a moralist. The
primary function of a state is to satisfy and protect the demands of national interest by
means of national power.

Prudence as the Guide:

However, this does not mean that political realism is devoid of morality. It accepts that
moral principles can exercise an influence on state actions and as such their role and
significance has to be analyzed and evaluated. But in doing so prudence has to be
observed. Realism, considers prudence—the weighing of the consequences of
alternative political actions—to be the supreme virtue in politics.” Universal moral
principles must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and space and
only then these should be prudently applied to the actions of states.

V. Fifth Principle:

Difference between Moral Aspirations of a Nation and the Universal Moral

Principles:

Political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the
moral principles that govern the universe. It refuses to accept that the national
interests and policies of any particular nation reflect universally applied moral
principles.

Each nation tries to cover its national interests under the cloak of several moral
principles. An identification of national policies as the true manifestations of moral
principles is bound to be misleading and politically pernicious. The US anti-terror
policy is governed by its own national interest and not really based on the concept of
making the world safe for freedom and democracy. A foreign policy is always based on
national interest and national power, and not on morality,
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(ii) Nations are actors engaged in securing their respective national interests and are
not the followers of moral laws. The moral laws that govern the universe do not apply
to their actions. Their actions are always based upon national interests as conceived in
term of power. The policy of a nation as such cannot be equated and should not be
confused with universal moral principles.

VI. Sixth Principle:

Autonomy of International Politics:

Morgenthau Political Realism accepts the autonomy of International Politics as a

discipline. On the basis of the above five principles, it is ascertained by Morgenthau
that there exists a real and profound difference between political realism and other
approaches and theories. Political realism has its distinctive intellectual and moral
attitude towards political matters. It maintains the autonomy of the political sphere.

“A political realist always thinks in terms of interest defined as power, as an economist

thinks of interest defined as wealth; the lawyer, of the conformity of action with legal
rules and the moralist, of the conformity of action with moral principles.”

Political realism is neither idealistic nor legalistic and nor even moralistic in its
approach to International Politics. It is concerned with national interest defined in
terms of power as its sole concern. For example, political realism is not concerned with
legalistic and moralistic angles of American decision to go to war against Iraq. It is
concerned with the factors that resulted into such a U.S. policy and the actual
consequences of this policy. It interprets this U.S. policy decisions on the basis of the
national interests of the USA.

Realism seeks to study the struggle for power among nations in which every nation
tries to maintain or increase its power. Thus, Political Realism has a distinctive
approach and subject- matter. It stands for political standards for political actions and
subordinates all other standards to political standards. Political Realism believes in the
autonomy of International Politics.

To sum up, we can say, Political Realism regards international politics as struggle for
power among nations whereby each nation tries to secure its national interest. It seeks
to build a rational and realistic theory of International Politics and for this, regards the
concept of “interest defined as power” as the benchmark.
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It emphasizes the study of factors and consequences of political policies and gives
secondary importance to motives in international relations. It refuses to use universal
moral principles for judging state actions and instead advocates dependence on
prudence for analyzing policies and facts of international politics.

Further, political realism believes that the foreign policy of each nation is really based
upon national interest and not upon moral principles. The latter are used as covers to
buttress the goals of national interests. Finally, political realism accepts and advocates
the autonomy of international politics as a discipline studying national interest defined
in terms of power.

It defines international politics as struggle for power. Regarding the question of

securing peace, Morgenthau advocates recourse to peace through accommodation. For
this he accepts diplomacy and devices of power management as the ideal and effective
means.

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