Theories of IR

Presented by : Ammarah Farhat Abbas

Rights reserved: Zahid Bashar Dost
 Theories
• Realism
• Idealism
• Constructivism
• Feminism
 Realism

• Classical Realism
• Realism
• Structural/ Neo/ Modern Realism
• Neo Classical Realism
 Realism
“A theory based on the principle that world politics is a
struggle among self-interested states for power and
position under anarchy, with each competing state
pursuing its own national interests”.
• Realism believes International System is anarchic.
• Int. Politics is power politics
 Basic Assumptions of
Realism
• A pessimistic view of human nature.
• A belief that IR are necessarily conflictual and conflicts are
resolved by war.
• Focuses on national security.
• Discusses states as main actors, in competition with one
another.
• Int. system is anarchic and conflict-prone where relative gains
are achieved. (Kashmir b/w Ind. Pak).
 Basic Assumptions of
Realism
• States must acquire power to survive.
• International politics is struggle for power.
• Power is the currency of international politics.
• Human are obsessed about their own well-being so do
states.
 Essentials of Realism
• Statism
• Survival
• Self Help
 Statism
• State are unit of analysis (indiv. less important)
• State is bound to use force when necessary for the
security.
• With out state nothing can be accomplished.
• Power cannot be exercised in a vacuum.
 Survival
• Survival is pre-condition to other objectives.
• Without state survival - nothing can be accomplished.
• Without state all achievements are useless.
 Self help
• In int. system no state can be relied upon for the security.
• States finds it difficult to trust others.
• States are power maximizers
• SELF COMPETITION
• States build more and more military capabilities
 Classical Realism

• Sun Tzu____ Art of War

• Thucydides ____ Peloponnesian War
• Machiavelli ____ The Prince
• Chankiya Kotaliya___ Arshastra
• Thomas Hobbes ____ Leviathan
 Classical Realism
• Debates about human nature
• Man is selfish by nature
• Ends justify the means
• Realism is the oldest and most dominant theory of IR
 Arshastra
• Peace
• War
• Neutrality
• Marching
• Alliance
• Double policy
 The Prince
• ‘’I shall conquer the world for my prince ‘’
• Power (the Lion) and deception (the Fox) are the two essential means
for FP.
• Ruler should seek advantage to defend its interests to ensure survival.
• Ruler must be a lion, cunning, and Ruthless.
• Ruler must not act according to Christian ethics; “Love your
neighbour”, be peaceful and avoid war, be charitable, stand with
oppressed, help poor, etc.
 Classical Realism – “IR is the
result of Human Nature”
Thucydides (395-460 BC)
• Man is a ‘political animal’.
• States are like animals – different in size and power.
• They strive for power and wish to dominate others.
 Thomas Hobbes
• System is anarchic.
• People find themselves in permanent ‘state of war’.
• War of all against all is inevitable – to survive
 Realism
• Concept by E.H.Carr, Hans Morganthaue
• They applied the concept of realism over states
 Morgenthau
• Men and women are borne to pursue power.
• They have Lust for Power.
• This lust brings them into conflict with each other.
• ‘’WHAT EVER MAY BE THE PERMANENT GOAL,POWER
IS ALWAYS THE IMMEDIATE GOAL IN INTERNATIONAL
POLITICS’’
 Morgenthau about Realism
• Politics have roots in human nature.
• Rulers’ conduct is based on interests defined in terms of
power.
• Interest determine political conduct.
• Nations pursue interests defined in terms of power
• Realism rejects the legalistic-moralist approach to Int.
Politics.
 Machiavelli
• ‘’Religion ,ethics and morals have nothing to do with
politics.’’
 Structural Realism or
Neorealism
• Concept by Keneth Waltz
• He wrote ‘’ Theory of international politics’’ in 1979
• He talks about anarchy and international structure
• The structure is anarchic, it compels the beings to behave
in a realistic way.
 Structural Realism or
Neorealism
• “The structure of the international System
influences the behaviour of the states based on
global hierarchy defined primarily by distribution of
power”. 
• Explains the behaviour of great powers.
• States are always conscious about the balance of power.
 Structural Realism
• structure compels states to act in a certain way, structure
determine actions. (WoT and Pakistan’s inclusion).
• structural constraints that arise from the distribution of power force
or induce states to act in certain ways and avoid acting in others.
• All states do the same job; collecting tax and giving facilities to its
citizens.
• But, … they differ in terms of power, e.g. US and Nepal…are they
equal…??
 Offensive Realism
• John Mearsheimer – to ensure survival, it is best to
become the most powerful state.
• He argues, ‘states seek regional hegemony’. (India in
South Asia and China in Asia ..)
• Hegemon states try hard to prevent the rise of competitor
in order to stay dominant.
 Offensive Realism
1. US against Germany in WWI
2. US against Germany and Japan in WWII
3. US against USSR during Cold-War.

• If any of these countries had attained hegemony in

Europe - would have march to US.
 Defensive Realism
• Kenneth Waltz - believes that state must seek power
enough for its security.
• Because, excessive power accumulation provokes hostile
alliances against you – and bring you down.
• Therefore, it is foolish to go for excessive power.
 Gains
• Absolute gains___ for your own needs
• Relative gains__ measurement of power in terms of
comparison (Ind vs Pak)
 Neo Classic Realism
• Concept by Farid Zakria and John Mearsheimer
• They combined the impact of structure and the role of
human nature
• It is a compromised form of realism
• They owned many liberalist concepts.
Liberalism
 Liberalism
• Classic liberalism
• Liberalism
• Neo Liberalism
 Liberalism
• Roots of liberalism are traced from the book Perpetual
peace by Immanuel Kant.
• After WW1 idealists emerged in order to counter the
horrifying affects of war to bring peace.
• Idealists are hyper liberalists___ Utopian approach
• They wanted to establish a world government
 Core Beliefs of Liberalism
• An optimistic approach to global politics based on;
1. Rejects power politics.
2. Mutual Benefits and cooperation.
3. Economic interdependence.
4. Int. Institutions –UNO, EU, IMF, WB, ASEAN, G7, G20, etc.
5. Free trade and democracy.
6. Focuses more on individuals than states
 Liberals Assumptions
• Positive view of human nature.

• belief that human nature can be cooperative.

• Believes in progress and mutual benefits.

 Types of Liberalism
Sociological Liberals
• Highlights transnational non-governmental ties among
societies, individual and groups.
Interdependence Liberals
• Pay particular attention to economic ties of mutual
exchange and mutual dependence between people and
governments.
 Types of Liberalism
Institutional Liberals
• Highlight the importance of organized cooperation
between states. NATO, EU, SCO etc.
Republican Liberals
• Argue that liberal democratic institutions and forms of
government necessary to ensure peaceful cooperative
relations among states.
 Neo-Liberalism
• Concept by Robert P Cohen and Joseph Nye
• Globalization
• Interdependence
• Connectivity
• this concept emerged after cold war
 Neo-Liberalism / Neoliberal
Institutionalism
• An umbrella terms, that believes in the role of international
institutions (esp. MNCs) in promoting global change,
cooperation, peace and prosperity.
• Neoliberalism refers to extensive economic liberalization policies
related to free trade, privatization, deregulation, and fiscal
austerity in order to enhance the role of the private sector in the
economy (but insufficient attention paid to equality).
• Neo-liberals see institutions as significant forces in IR because
they facilitate the cooperation between states.
 Roots of Liberalism
• Traced to John Lock,17th century, who emphasized on
Individual progress, societal growth, Capitalist
economy.
• Liberalism was facilitated by industrial revolution.
• Also believe that individuals are cooperative domestically
and internationally. (LoN 1919)
Liberalism ups and downs in 20th
Century
• WWII muted this optimism started after WWI .
• Yet another surge came in 1945 (UNO)
• Again Cold-War ended this optimism.
• Demise of USSR and end of cold-war.
• 9/11, 7/7, Madrid Attack was set back for liberal optimism.
The Scientific Revolution- Behavioural Approach
and System Approach
 Behavioural approach
• A methodological debate of 1960s, - belief that natural
science method should be used in IR.
• Natural Sciences + Social Sciences
• Behaviourist believed that the field was dominated by
historians.
• The debate was sparked because IR community was
losing its battle to acquire the status of a science.
 Post-modernism
• Post-modernism brought with it questioning of the
previous approaches to knowing.
• Scepticism towards all established truths & ideologies.
• Post-modernism is essentially concerned with
deconstructing the claims of ‘truth’…
• Class activity 1 – “Ideology of Pakistan”
• Class activity 2 – “why did Pakistan support Taliban?”
 Its significance in relation to
IR
• The core of this thinking is a belief that;
• Person studying IR cannot be unbiased – he/she is
influenced by his/her own affiliations.
• Things like the class, race, ethnicity, gender and
nationality of the author influence his/her writings.
• Ideas and events are constructed.
 Social Constructivism
“Ideas define international structure, structure shapes
identities, interests, and foreign policy of states and
non-state actors, and how they reshape the structure”.
• Constructivists focus on social, political, and religious
aspects of IR than material (military and economic
power).
e.g. refugees as Muslim brothers now terrorists.
 Reality constructivism

• Reality does not exist.

• When leaders say something – that occurs.
• You construct social reality by saying.
Iraq WMDs, Taliban from Mujahedeen to Terrorist.
 Constructivism
• Alexander Wendt, “people act towards objects and
people on the basis of the meanings that the objects have
for them”.
Nukes of NK and Nukes of Britain for USA???
• States act differently towards enemies and friends
• Enemies are threatening, whereas, friends are not.
• There are no permanent friends or foes in IR.
 Assumptions

• States are unit of analysis.

• Ideas, norms, identities, and beliefs are important.
• Identities (images) are produced by interaction.
 Class activity
• Before 1989, the USA felt threatened by Soviet weapons.
Today, not…Why??
 Class activity
• Realism: Russia is weaker.
• Liberalism: Economic ties has eased the conflict.
• Constructivism: Nuclear weapons have not disappeared,
but the threat perception has changed.
Americans act according to realist assumptions and
justify policies in terms of liberal ideology.
 International Society
• An approach – focuses on human being and their
political beliefs.
• Central point – ideologies shape world politics.
• It is a middle way between realism and liberalism
 Assumptions
• IR is a branch of human relations.
• Based on values such as independence, security,
justice, and order.
• Accepts anarchy and believe that world politics is an
“Anarchical Society”.
 Evolution of International
Society

• There are many ways to describe relations among

different political entities.
• 1 extreme: conflictual, war, defeats etc. (realist)
• 2nd extreme: cooperation, world govt. (Liberal)
 Evolution of International
Society

• Int. society is a combination of both extremes.

• Although, originally it was coined for relations among

European states.
 Medieval
Europe/Christianity/Islam
• From 500 – 1500 European society was a collection of
many nations under roman catholic church.
• Church played a vital role in shaping the society.
• Islam developed its own understanding of international
society.
• Holy Makkah has sent a message to Geneva:
Ought there be unity of mankind or unity among the 
nations
 Contemporary int. society
• “Contemporary international society comprises the
norms, rules, practices, and institutions governing the
relations among sovereign states”, e.g. European Union.
 Feminism
• Feminism grew out of Feminist movement of the 1960s
&1970s, to achieve political, social and economic
equality for women.

• It explains women’s subordination, and to seek ways to

end it.
 Gender in IR
• It rejects that Power comes out from barrel of the gun.
• Gender in IR provides inclusive view of globalization,
where women have equal role as do men.
• It discusses effects of social and industrial policies on
women.
Feminism about the key concepts of IR theory

• Man. As we know, Realism and Liberalism see people as

rational and self-maximizing beings
• This concept is made by men to stay in power.
 Feminism about the key
concepts of IR theory
The State. Rather than conceiving the state simply a
reflection of sovereignty, some IR scholars view states as
reflective of men’s power.

• Men are identified as bringers of order, while women

are identified with private thinking.
 Feminism about the key
concepts of IR theory
Power. Is conceived as "power-over" men, or to
influence men.

Feminists believe it is male-centric, because autonomy

frees a human being from all influences.
 War and Feminism
• Legitimacy of war is based on that men fight wars to
protect ‘vulnerable people’
• Yet, women and children are killed in wars.
Feminists highlight:
• Militaries are often threats to individuals’ (particularly
women security, wartime rape as a deliberate military
strategy
 Conclusion
• The central claim is that gender is a social issue and not
a biological one;
• The rejection of male dominant structures in IR.
• Has passionate interest in the possibilities for change in
world politics.
 Questions for probing
• Why do Realists claim that states must pursue power? and
why do power is considered the solution of all problems faced
by the state?
• How would a realist analyze the current problems in
international system?
• Which of the theories Liberalism and realism best explains
international politics?
• Why states are obsessed with Balance of Power?
THANK YOU 