What Do Realists Think About Climate Change?
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The Typologies of Realism
Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 1, 2006, 109–134 doi:10.1093/cjip/pol006 The Typologies of Realism Liu Feng* and Zhang Ruizhuang Much more than a single theory, realism is a school of thought containing numerous related branches. In recent years an outpour of debate and exchange within the realist tradition has captured the attention of scholars. Many scholars have attempted to create schemes classifying the different branches and threads of realist thought that have emerged, while others have introduced a wealth of new terminology. Unfortunately, as a result of these Downloaded from efforts, realist concepts have become obfuscated, resulting in much confusion, and ultimately erecting a barrier to intellectual progress in the field. The goal of this article is to help remove this barrier by clarifying the criteria for classifying different approaches to realist thought and presenting a more coherent classification scheme that will enhance the understanding of the http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ relationship between various strands of realist thought. The Debate Regarding the Classification of Types of Realism Since the 1980s, a number of new schools of thought, including by guest on May 28, 2014 constructivism, critical theory and post-modernism, have critiqued, and ultimately come to challenge, traditional schools of international relations theory such as realism and liberalism. Yet, as a result of sharp differences with respect to ontology, epistemology and methodology, exchange between these new schools and the more traditional mainstream schools have been quite limited. In stark contrast with this dearth of scholarly exchange across schools of thought, the intellectual debate and exchange of ideas within the realist school have flowered, giving birth to many new branches and sub-branches of realist thought. -
Waltz's Theory of Theory
WALTZ’S THEORY OF THEORY 201 Waltz’s Theory of Theory Ole Wæver Abstract Waltz’s 1979 book, Theory of International Politics, is the most infl uential in the history of the discipline. It worked its effects to a large extent through raising the bar for what counted as theoretical work, in effect reshaping not only realism but rivals like liberalism and refl ectivism. Yet, ironically, there has been little attention paid to Waltz’s very explicit and original arguments about the nature of theory. This article explores and explicates Waltz’s theory of theory. Central attention is paid to his defi nition of theory as ‘a picture, mentally formed’ and to the radical anti-empiricism and anti-positivism of his position. Followers and critics alike have treated Waltzian neorealism as if it was at bottom a formal proposition about cause–effect relations. The extreme case of Waltz being so victorious in the discipline, and yet being so consistently misinterpreted on the question of theory, shows the power of a dominant philosophy of science in US IR, and thus the challenge facing any ambitious theorising. The article suggests a possible movement of fronts away from the ‘fourth debate’ between rationalism and refl ectivism towards one of theory against empiricism. To help this new agenda, the article introduces a key literature from the philosophy of science about the structure of theory, and particularly about the way even natural science uses theory very differently from the way IR’s mainstream thinks it does – and much more like the way Waltz wants his theory to be used. -
John J. Mearsheimer: an Offensive Realist Between Geopolitics and Power
John J. Mearsheimer: an offensive realist between geopolitics and power Peter Toft Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Østerfarimagsgade 5, DK 1019 Copenhagen K, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected] With a number of controversial publications behind him and not least his book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, John J. Mearsheimer has firmly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the realist tradition in the study of international relations since Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International Politics. Mearsheimer’s main innovation is his theory of ‘offensive realism’ that seeks to re-formulate Kenneth Waltz’s structural realist theory to explain from a struc- tural point of departure the sheer amount of international aggression, which may be hard to reconcile with Waltz’s more defensive realism. In this article, I focus on whether Mearsheimer succeeds in this endeavour. I argue that, despite certain weaknesses, Mearsheimer’s theoretical and empirical work represents an important addition to Waltz’s theory. Mearsheimer’s workis remarkablyclear and consistent and provides compelling answers to why, tragically, aggressive state strategies are a rational answer to life in the international system. Furthermore, Mearsheimer makes important additions to structural alliance theory and offers new important insights into the role of power and geography in world politics. Journal of International Relations and Development (2005) 8, 381–408. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800065 Keywords: great power politics; international security; John J. Mearsheimer; offensive realism; realism; security studies Introduction Dangerous security competition will inevitably re-emerge in post-Cold War Europe and Asia.1 International institutions cannot produce peace. -
INRL 5008 Methodology and Theory of International Relations
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations INRL 5008 Methodology and Theory of International Relations Dr. Nand C. Bardouille [email protected] SEMESTER I ACADEMIC YEAR 2020 – 2021 1 INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (IIR) THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, ST. AUGUSTINE Methodology and Theory of International Relations Postgraduate Diploma Course INRL 5008 Dr. Nand C. Bardouille Email: [email protected] Office hours online: Wednesday 5pm–6pm and Thursday 5pm–6pm or by appointment Class times online: Tuesdays 5pm – 8pm (5pm–6:30pm; 6:30pm–7:00pm; 7:00pm–7:45pm) Mode of Delivery This course will be delivered online, leveraging zoom teleconference, online activities and assignments. Description The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the conceptualization, understanding and application of theory in International Relations (IR). The course begins with a brief introduction on the approaches to analysis within the discipline, ontology and epistemology, methodology and so on. This prepares students, firstly, for the discussion note and later the main coursework essay, which invites them to reflect on issues of what constitutes IR and how to ' do' the discipline. Secondly, it gives students the necessary grounding with which to examine, understand and analyse the varied theoretical approaches which are addressed within the course. They include classical theories like idealism and realism. This forms the basis for consideration of mainstream IR theory, having an eye to structural realism, liberalism, neoliberal institutionalism and cosmopolitanism, and the so-called 'neo-neo' debate. -
Realism and the Common Security And
JCMS 2011 Volume 49. Number 1. pp. 23–42 Realism and the Common Security and Defence Policy*jcms_2127 23..42 STEN RYNNING University of Southern Denmark Abstract The European Union has ventured into the business of power politics with its common security and defence policy (CSDP). Realism can explain both why the EU is being pulled into this business and why it is failing to be powerful. Although realism has much to offer, it is not the dominant approach to the study of the EU and its foreign affairs because the EU is commonly perceived as capable of transcending power politics as we used to know it. The first purpose of this article is therefore to question the stereotyping of realism as a framework that only applies to great power confrontations. The second is to introduce the complexity of realist thought because realism is a house divided. The analysis first examines structural realism, then the classical realist tradition. The third and final purpose of the article is to evaluate the contributions these approaches can make to the study of the CSDP. The most pow- erful realist interpretation of the CSDP is found to be the classical one, according to which the CSDP is partly a response to international power trends but notably also the institutionalization of the weakness of European nation-states. The article defines this perspective in relation to contending realist and constructivist perspectives. It high- lights classical realism as a dynamic framework of interpretation that does not provide an image of a CSDP end-state, but rather a framework for understanding an evolving reality and for speaking truth to power. -
Chapter-02.Pdf
Name: Class: Date: Chapter 02 1. Which of the following is derived from a set of assumptions and evidence about some phenomenon? a. a framework b. a theory c. a paradigm d. a normative proposition 2. Which of the following refers to a dominant way of looking at a particular subject, which structures our thought about an area of inquiry? a. a paradigm b. a theory c. a normative proposition d. a hypothesis 3. Which political movement in the United States calls for the use of military and economic power in foreign policy to bring freedom and democracy to other countries? a. liberalism b. realism c. defensive realism d. neoconservatism 4. Which three important applications do theories have for policy makers? a. diagnosis, prescription, and lesson-drawing b. persuasion, prescription, and prognosis c. prescription, description, and retrospection d. inference, prescription, and prognosis 5. Which of the following is the oldest of the prevailing schools of thought in international relations? a. realism b. neoconservatism c. feminism d. liberalism 6. Whose writings can the realist theory of international relations be traced to? a. St. Augustine’s b. Hugo Grotius’s c. Thucydides’s d. Carl Marx’s 7. Realists argue that the condition of anarchy typically leads to which of the following? a. chaos b. interdependence c. war Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 1 Name: Class: Date: Chapter 02 d. self-help 8. Which of the following statements best describes the notion of relative gains? a. “Winning is more important than doing well.” b. “Doing well is more important than winning.” c. -
Scarce Differences: Toward a Material and Systemic Foundation for Offensive and Defensive Realism
Security Studies, 22:436–465, 2013 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0963-6412 print / 1556-1852 online DOI: 10.1080/09636412.2013.816125 Scarce Differences: Toward a Material and Systemic Foundation for Offensive and Defensive Realism ERIC J. HAMILTON AND BRIAN C. RATHBUN A divide has opened up between offensive and defensive realism as to the relative scarcity of security in the international system, with powerful implications for the vision each approach offers about the nature of international politics. Yet we still do not understand why the two diverge given their common neorealist foundations. This article reviews implicit, explicit, and other potential explanations of that difference—the relationship between power and security, the offense-defense balance, the prevalence and efficiency of balancing vs. bandwagoning, and the role played by uncertainty in decision- making—and finds them lacking in their ability to provide an adequate account that is systemic and structural in nature, does not violate arguments the scholars have made in practice, and does not confuse cause with effect. Finding prior efforts lacking, this article proposes that the distinction could be logically rooted in material scarcity, a familiar theme in realism historically that has been ignored in more recent formulations. Drawing a distinction between a “dangerous world” in which uncertainty is the core problem and a “competitive world” in which scarcity bedevils state relations helps explain where offensive and defensive realism both diverge and converge. Eric J. Hamilton is a PhD candidate in the Politics and International Relations Program at the University of Southern California. Brian C. Rathbun is an associate professor at the University of Southern California. -
Structural Realism in a More Complex World
Review of International Studies (2003), 29, 403–414 Copyright © British International Studies Association DOI: 10.1017/S0260210503004030 Structural Realism in a more complex world CHARLES L. GLASER The editors of the Review of International Studies have posed a timely challenge to what they term American realism. In broad terms, their editorial makes two points: first, realism has lost its relevance to current international policy; and second, realism does a poor job of explaining the behaviour of the world’s major powers. In this brief essay I argue that both of these points are greatly overstated, if not simply wrong. At the same time, I accept that realism provides less leverage in addressing the full spectrum of issues facing the major powers in the post-Soviet and now the post-9/11 world than it did during the Cold War. However, this is neither surprising nor a serious problem, because scholars who use a realist lens to understand international politics can, and have, without inconsistency or contradiction also employed other theories to understand issues that fall outside realism’s central focus. Continuing relevance To gauge whether realism has lost its relevance we can consider some of the central questions that realism attempts to answer: under what international conditions will major powers find that competitive policies are best for achieving their objectives? When is major-power war likely and when instead is peace likely to prevail? These questions would be uninteresting if the end of the Cold War had fundamentally transformed international relations, essentially guaranteeing cooperative and peaceful relations among the major powers. -
The China's Rise According to Realist Theories
POWER AND INFLUENCE: IDEATIONAL AND MATERIAL FACTORS IN THE INTERNATIONAL POSTURE OF CHINA RISING AS A GREAT POWER A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Liberal Studies By Massimo Ambrosetti, LLM Georgetown University Washington, D.C. May 1st 2012 ii Copyright 2012 by Massimo Ambrosetti All Rights Reserved iii POWER AND INFLUENCE: IDEATIONAL AND MATERIAL FACTORS IN THE INTERNATIONAL POSTURE OF CHINA RISING AS A GREAT POWER Massimo Ambrosetti LLM DLS Co-Chairs: Francis J. Ambrosio, Ph.D; Michael C. Wall, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The thesis tries to assess the possible “transformative impact” of the rise of China on the international system by analyzing material and ideational elements which shape this process and are reflected in the revisionist and status quo components of the PRC’s international behavior. On the basis of a post-positivist epistemological approach which underscores the necessity of connecting theory to its practical implications - in a logic of hermeneutical rediscovery of the dimension of “phronesis” - the thesis deconstructs neo- realist and neo-liberal paradigms which have examined the rise of China through analytical approaches mainly centered on hegemonic transition and interdependence theories. By arguing that the rise of China is a multifaceted process influenced by domestic and international factors, the thesis analyzes the possible structural transformation of the international system linked to the relative but significant shift of hard and soft power driven not only by the ascendancy of China on the world’s scene but also by other emerging powers. -
A Rose by Any Other Name: Neoclassical Realism As the Logical and Necessary Extension of Structural Realism
Security Studies, 17: 294–321, 2008 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0963-6412 print / 1556-1852 online DOI: 10.1080/09636410802098917 A Rose by Any Other Name: Neoclassical Realism as the Logical and Necessary Extension of Structural Realism BRIAN RATHBUN Neoclassical realism is often criticized by non-realists for being an ad hoc and theoretically degenerative effort to explain away anomalies for neorealism. In this paper, I argue instead that neoclassical realism is a logical extension and necessary part of advancing neorealism. Structural realism argues that the system constrains but does not determine state action and where foreign policy departs from what would be ideal behavior given a state’s structural position, domestic politics and ideas are generally the cause. This focus on mistakes and maladaptive behavior, seen in such neoclassical realist concepts as over- or under-balancing, is necessary to avoid falling into the trap of merely using domestic politics and ideas to make neorealism more determinate and explain residual variance in foreign policy choice unaccounted for by structure. The article attempts to correct the mistaken presumption that particular paradigms own domestic politics and ideas, asserting instead that each paradigm has access to these variables but must make them their own. Realism has come under siege lately, not only empirically, but also theo- retically. Based on epistemological criteria drawn from the philosophy of science, opponents of realism claim that the approach is a “degenerative” Downloaded by [USC University of Southern California] at 15:12 15 April 2015 Brian Rathbun is an assistant professor at the University of Southern California. -
Offensive Realism, Defensive Realism, and the Role of Constraints
ArkPSA Arkansas Political Science Association ─────────────────────────────────────────────── Offensive Realism, Defensive Realism, and the Role of Constraints Author(s): Peter Rudloff Source: The Midsouth Political Science Review, Volume 14 (December 2013), pp. 45-77 ISSN: 2330-6882 [print]; 2330-6890 [online] Published by: Arkansas Political Science Association Website: http://uca.edu/politicalscience/midsouth-political-science- review-mpsr/ ─────────────────────────────────────────────── Offensive Realism, Defensive Realism, and the Role of Constraints1 Peter Rudloff Oklahoma State University Despite the prominence of realist theory in international relations, there is much disagreement among realists as to how states make decisions, and few studies attempt to compare different realist theories with formal models and large-N empirical analysis. This article applies optimization models from the economic literature to two variants of realist theory: offensive and defensive realism. The key constraints in these economic models are shown to be one way to develop clear alternative hypotheses that distinguish between these two realist theories. These two hypotheses are tested with data on major powers from 1820 to 2000. The results of this analysis indicate that while there is little support for either offensive or defensive realist theory across the entire period of study, there is more support for defensive realism when examining the pre-World War I and post-World War II time periods separately. Introduction Do major powers aggressively seek power over other states, or do states only seek enough power in order to achieve an acceptable level of security? This is an ongoing question in international relations research (Labs 1997), and the answer to such a question has profound implications for the international system. -
Neo-Conservatism and Foreign Policy
University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Fall 2009 Neo-conservatism and foreign policy Ted Boettner University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Boettner, Ted, "Neo-conservatism and foreign policy" (2009). Master's Theses and Capstones. 116. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/116 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Neo-Conservatism and Foreign Policy BY TED BOETTNER BS, West Virginia University, 2002 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Political Science September, 2009 UMI Number: 1472051 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI" UMI Microform 1472051 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.