International Relations Essay. ONLY PROTOJE

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The Globalization of World Politics (6e)

6. Realism

Baylis, Smith & Owens

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

The timeless wisdom of realism

• Realism is the dominant tradition in the study of world politics

• Post-WW2 realism rests on an older, classical tradition of thought, tracing its roots back to philosophers such as Thucydides, Machiavelli and others

• This tradition informs statesmen what they need to do to ‘preserve the health and strength of the State’ – the very reason of state

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

The timeless wisdom of realism

• The State must, and does, pursue power.

• The assumption that the state is the principal actor, coupled with the view that states inhabit a perilous place, helps define the essential core of realism

• Viewed thus, ethics and ideas of universal morality can actively hinder state leaders from making sure that the state will survive

• States thus abide by separate moral standards

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

The timeless wisdom of realism

• The three core elements of realism – statism, survival and self-help, are present in all variants of realism

• The group, rather than the individual, is the fundamental unit of analysis – units have changed from polis to sovereign state, but the realist logics remain the same

• Outside its own borders, the state (or other equivalent unit) operates in a state of anarchy

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

The timeless wisdom of realism

• Power helps ensure survival in these conditions

• Power will not be ‘granted’ – each state must independently try to gain power

• A balance of power will prevent a hegemonic state or a coalition of states from dominating the others – and so should actively be seeked

• Self-help may lead to a security dilemma as all react to others’ quest for more power

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

A taxonomy of realisms

• CLASSICAL realism begins with Thucydides’ representation of power politics as a law of human behaviour

• Power struggle is thus a biological imperative that stems from a universal need to belong and to survive

• A harsh interpretation suggests that needs related to this vital power struggle trump all other considerations and obligations

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

A taxonomy of realisms

• STRUCTURAL realists argue that it is not human nature but the anarchical system itself that fosters fear and insecurity

• The distribution of power is the key variable when trying to understand matters of war and peace, alliance politics etc.

• Anarchy promotes or provokes self-help meaning that states will try to maximize their security and relative power positions

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

A taxonomy of realisms

• Rank-ordering of states becomes important to understand the dynamics of the system

• Defensive realism identifies a bipolar world as the most stable system

• Offensive realism identifies a situation where a global hegemon dominates the international system as the ideal – but since that is so hard to accomplish the struggle between great powers will likely remain

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

A taxonomy of realisms

• NEOCLASSICAL realists think that structural realism is incomplete

• What is needed is better accounts of unit-level variables, such as how power is perceived, and how leadership is exercised

• Domestic politics will affect what is possible to accomplish on the international arena

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

Criticism of realism

• The peaceful conclusion of the cold war caught many realists off guard

• Regional integration, humanitarian intervention, the growing importance of non-state actors etc. did not seem to fit a realism world view

• Intra-state wars are sometimes hard to explain in realism terms

Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e

• Successive American admini- strations have taken the view that stability in the Middle East is more likely to be achieved by propping up Egyptian dictatorships

• The fundamental idea is that it is better to maintain a moderate friendly autocrat, than to risk and unfriendly revolutionary regime

• In the Egyptian case, the policy proved mutually beneficial until the time of the Arab Spring

Case study 2: strategic partnerships with ‘friendly’ dictators