1 / 11

Fundamentals of Realism

Fundamentals of Realism. Statism Survival Self-help. Statism – sovereignty and force internally. State = main actor, possessing sovereignty 1 st move of a state behaving as a realist: Est. a monopoly of legitimate use of violence. Statism – sovereignty and force externally.

sonora
Télécharger la présentation

Fundamentals of Realism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Fundamentals of Realism Statism Survival Self-help

  2. Statism – sovereignty and force internally • State = main actor, possessing sovereignty • 1st move of a state behaving as a realist: • Est. a monopoly of legitimate use of violence

  3. Statism– sovereignty and force externally • The basis of order are missing internationally • States compete for: • Power and security • 2nd move of the state: • Gain power internationally

  4. Statism and the Realist Definition of Power • Two primary points that realists make: • Power is a relational concept • Power is a relative concept • Extremely difficult to assess/measure – too often is reduced to armies, bombs, etc.

  5. Criticisms of How realists define Power • Several key unanswered questions (p. 94) • Neorealists (Waltz) have responded by shifting the focus from power to capabilities • New way of ranking/measuring

  6. Other criticisms re: def. of power • A more sophisticated approach: • Define as the ability of a state to control or influence its environment in situations that are not necessarily conflictual • Are states really the only important actor?

  7. Survival • Survival/security is the key precondition to achieve all other goals • Contention among neorealists: • Are states power- or security- maximizers? • Debate between offensive and defensive realists

  8. Survival • N. Machiavelli – aim of The Prince • 2 key Machiavellian themes (based on idea of dual morality) • Understand the real nature of int’l pol. • Protect the state at all costs • Ethic of responsibility

  9. Self-help • Waltz; comparison between the structure of int’l and domestic politics • Int’l system; no higher authority to prevent violence – security is gained only through self-help

  10. Self-Help - Security dilemma • Leaders will question: are those military preparations offensive or defensive in nature? • Change of status quo? • Trust? • Perpetual build up of arms – self-defeating, ironic • Balance of power will: • naturally emerge, or is it • deliberately constructed?

  11. Self-Help – Balance of Power • Unipolarity, Multipolarity • As the balances inevitably collapse, states try to mitigate the worst consequences of the security dilemma, but can’t escape it • Analogy of the stag hunt

More Related