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Realism in Practice an Appraisal  EDITED BY DAVIDE ORSI, J. R. AVGUSTIN & MAX NURNUS Realism in Practice An Appraisal This e-book is provided without charge via free download by E-International Relations (www.E-IR.info). It is not permitted to be sold in electronic format under any circumstances. If you enjoy our free e-books, please consider leaving a small donation to allow us to continue investing in open access publications: http://www.e-ir.info/about/donate/ i Realism in Practice An Appraisal EDITED BY DAVIDE ORSI, J. R. AVGUSTIN & MAX NURNUS ii E-International Relations www.E-IR.info Bristol, England 2018 ISBN 978-1-910814-37-6 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-910814-38-3 (e-book) This book is published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. You are free to: • Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format • Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material Under the following terms: • Attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. • Non-Commercial – You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission. Please con- tact [email protected] for any such enquiries, including for licensing and translation requests. Other than the terms noted above, there are no restrictions placed on the use and dissemination of this book for student learning materials/scholarly use. Production: Michael Tang Cover Image: DmitryRukhlenko via Depositphotos A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library iii E-IR Edited Collections Series Editors: Stephen McGlinchey, Marianna Karakoulaki and Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska Copy-editing: Cameran Clayton Editorial assistance: Jasmine Chorley and Hayden Paulsen E-IR’s Edited Collections are open access scholarly books presented in a format that preferences brevity and accessibility while retaining academic conventions. Each book is available in print and digital versions, and is published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. As E-International Relations is committed to open access in the fullest sense, free electronic versions of all of our books, including this one, are available on the E-International Relations website. Find out more at: http://www.e-ir.info/publications About the E-International Relations website E-International Relations (www.E-IR.info) is the world’s leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics, reaching over 3 million unique readers. E-IR’s daily publications feature expert articles, blogs, reviews and interviews – as well as student learning resources. The website is run by a registered non-profit organisation based in Bristol, England and staffed with an all-volunteer team of students and scholars. iv Editors Davide Orsi (Ph.D. in Politics and International Relations from Cardiff University, 2015) is an Editor-at-Large at E-International Relations. His first book Michael Oakeshott’s Political Philosophy of International Relations: Civil Association and International Society (Palgrave, 2016) explores the historical and normative dimension of international society by relating Oakeshott’s philosophy of civil association to English School theories of international relations. He has published work in journals including the Journal of International Political Theory, Collingwood and British Idealism Studies, the European Legacy, and the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. J. R. Avgustin (Ph.D. in International Relations from University of Ljubljana, 2016) is an Editor-at-Large at E-International Relations. He is an Associate Tutor at the University of East Anglia, an independent research consultant for Nepal Matters for America and a World Debate Institute Fellow. His main research interests focus on the use of force in international relations, particularly when authorised by the UN Security Council (www. unscramblethesc.org). His publications include articles in Sociology of Diplomacy: Initial Reading and Acta Diplomatica. Max Nurnus is a PhD student at the Graduate School of International Studies of Seoul National University and Deputy Articles Editor at E-International Relations. v Acknowledgments This collected edition would not exist without the support and guidance from Stephen McGlinchey, Editor-in-chief of E-International Relations. We would also like to thank Robert W. Murray for his efforts with bringing clarity of concept to this collection. Most of all, we would like to thank all the contributing authors for their work and their patience. Davide Orsi, J. R. Avgustin and Max Nurnus vi Abstract The purpose of this collection is to appraise the current relevance and validity of realism as an interpretative tool in contemporary International Relations. All chapters of the book are animated by a theoretical effort to define the conceptual aspects of realism and attempt to establish whether the tradition still provides the necessary conceptual tools to scholars of International Relations. The chapters address important issues in contemporary world politics through the lens of realist theory such as the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East; the war against ISIS; the appearance of non-state actors and outlaw agents; the rise of China; cyberwarfare; human rights and humanitarian law. The collection also provides insights on some of the theoretical tenets of classical and structural realism. Overall, the collection shows that, in spite of its many shortcomings, realism still offers an incredibly multifaceted understanding of world politics and enlightens the increasing challenges of world politics. vii viii Realism in Practice Contents INTRODUCTION Davide Orsi, J. R. Avgustin and Max Nurnus 1 1. REALISM: TRAGEDY, POWER AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS Felix Rösch & Richard Ned Lebow 6 2. REALISM, POST-REALISM AND ISIS Francis A. Beer & Robert Hariman 16 3. THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF REALISM Arash Heydarian Pashakhanlou 29 4. WHEN HARD POWER SHRINKS: THE MIDLIFE CRISIS OF REALISM Tony C. Lee 43 5. REALISM AND POWER TRANSITION THEORY: DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE POWER TREE Carsten Rauch 55 6. CHINA’S MILITARY MODERNISATION: INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMIC CHANGE THROUGH INTERNAL BALANCING? Layla Dawood 72 7. REALISM AND CYBER CONFLICT: SECURITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE Anthony J.S. Craig & Brandon Valeriano 85 8. REALISM AND PEACEFUL CHANGE Anders Wivel 102 9. REALISM, SMALL STATES AND NEUTRALITY Archie W. Simpson 119 10. THE RELUCTANT REALIST: JIMMY CARTER AND IRAN Robert W. Murray & Stephen McGlinchey 131 11. REALISM: HUMAN RIGHTS FOE? Koldo Casla 143 12. WHY IR REALISM PERSISTS M.J. Peterson 156 NOTE ON INDEXING 172 ix x Realism in Practice Contributors Francis A. Beer is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Colorado. His books include: Meanings of War and Peace; Peace Against War: The Ecology of International Violence and Integration and Disintegration in NATO: Processes of Alliance Cohesion and Prospects for Atlantic Community as well as related monographs on The Political Economy of Alliances and How Much War in History. He has also co-edited (with Robert Hariman) Post-Realism: The Rhetorical Turn in International Relations. His present interests centre on meaning, metaphor and myth in international relations with a particular concern for war and peace. Koldo Casla earned his PhD at King’s College London in July 2017, where he has studied why Western European states promote international human rights norms. His most recent publications are ‘The rights we live in: protecting the right to housing in Spain’ (IJHR, 20:3, 2016) and ‘Dear fellow jurists, human rights are about politics, and that’s perfectly fine’ (chapter in edited volume Can human rights bring social justice?, 2015). Anthony J.S. Craig is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University, and a member of the Research School on Peace and Conflict at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. His PhD research investigates developments in national cyber capabilities across the international system. Layla Dawood is a Professor at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). She holds a PhD in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She has published papers, book chapters and articles on different issues of the International Security field, including Latin American Security. Her research interests encompass International Relations Theory and International Security with a focus on balancing, nuclear policy and non-proliferation. Robert Hariman is Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of Political Style: The Artistry of Power and two volumes co-authored with John Louis Lucaites: No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy, and The Public Image: Photography and Civic Spectatorship. His other publications include edited volumes on popular trials, prudence, post-realism, and the texture of political action. His work has been translated into French and Chinese. Together with John Louis Lucaites he maintains a blog: Nocaptionneeded.com. xi Richard Ned Lebow is Professor of International Political Theory in the War Studies Department of King’s College London, Bye-Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge and the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor (Emeritus) of Government at Dartmouth College. His most recent books are National
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