Fundamentals of Realism• Statism• Survival• Self-help

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

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

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.

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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