International relations essay in 6 hrs [urgent] 1300 words
MAIN THEORETICAL APPROACHES
REALISM
LIBERALISM
CONSTRUCTIVISM
REALISM
- Introduction: types of realism
- The concept of power
- How much power
- Balance of power
- Offensive realism
- Concluding remarks
REALISM
Different descriptions of realism:
- Power politics
- “The billiard ball model”
REALISM
Well known realist thinkers
- Thucydides
- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Hans Morgenthau
- Henry Kissinger
- Kenneth Waltz
- John Mearsheimer
REALISM
A variety of realisms
- Classical realism
- Structural realism (neorealism)
- Defensive realism
- Offensive realism
REALISM
Classical realism:
- Human nature is aggressive
- Human aggregates (i.e., states) are aggressive too
REALISM
Structural realism: Assumptions
1. Anarchy (an-w/out archy-leader)
2. Inherent offensive military capability
3. Physical survival as primary goal
4. Uncertainty about other states' intentions
5. Rational calculation about survival in the international system
REALISM
1. The international system
is anarchic
- No world governmental authority to enforce agreements among states
- But not chaotic and with no order in it
REALISM
Anarchy is an ordering principle
- there is no ultimate arbiter that stands above states (opposite to hierarchy –
the ordering principle of domestic politics)
REALISM
It is impossible to set up a genuine world government
- States would not give up their sovereignty to an international body
REALISM
The absence of a central (overriding) authority
- States come to rely on power
- States seek to maintain or increase their positions relative to other states
REALISM
2. States inherently poses some offensive military capability
- The capacity to hurt and possibly to destroy each other
REALISM
3. States' primary goal is survival
- The central characteristic of the modern state is that it has a defined territory
- States want to maintain their
survival = sovereignty
REALISM
There are two types of sovereignty relating to states
- Internal sovereignty: authority within a given territory and over a given people
- External sovereignty ability to act independently in international affairs (e.g. to make alliances, declare wars and so on)
REALISM
4. Uncertainty
- States can never be certain about other states' intentions
- States want to know whether other states are revisionist or status quo states
REALISM
5. States think rationally (strategically)
- Anticipating behavior of other states based on rational calculations
- States are capable of coming up with sound strategies that maximize their prospects for survival
REALISM