1. James Fitzgerald School of Law and Government Dublin City University
LG117: Introduction to International Relations Lecture 5: Classic Theories of IR: Realism
James Fitzgerald
School of Law and Government
Dublin City University

2. What is International Relations? - Realism
Which Actors/units of analysis?
States – ‘black box’
What types of events/phenomena?
Conflict, crises, balance of power
Why?
Explanation, description, Survival
States, Self-help & Survival

3. What is International Relations? - Liberalism
Which Actors/unit of analysis?
States – from the ‘inside out’
International Organisations
Individuals?
What types of events/phenomena?
cooperation, economics, trade, law
Why?
Peace

4. How do we Characterise Realism? 6 Core (/Broad) Beliefs:
1) Usually State Centric
2) Emphasis on the Anarchical Nature of the International System
3) The Primacy of Power
4) Security is the Highest Priority
5) Critical of Universal Institutions
6) Examine the world in terms of an ‘objective’ reality

5. How do we Characterise Realism (2)?
Realism – “probably the most distinguished school of thought in the history of international relations” (Hoffman, 1988, 6)
But, didn’t it emerge as a response to Liberalism in the 1930’s?
Yes as a distinct tradition in IR, but also claimed continuity with older traditions in political thought…and practice .

6. Realism’s Cultural-Historic Roots
Christian Tradition: Man as inherently sinful
Egotistical
Animus dominandi
Darwinian Perspective: Survival of the Fittest

7. Realism And History For Realists, ‘things’ do not ‘get better’
Tragedy (Greeks, Nietzsche)
Hubris and Nemesis
‘Recurrence & Repetition’ (Gilpin, Wight)
Things change, but politics always stays the same

8. Realist Moral Politics
Realists prefer an ‘ethics of responsibility’ (Max Weber)
Realists argue that some moral choices are intractable
Stark contrast to the notion of ‘pacifism’
The lesser evil rather than the absolute good

9. 3 (Main) Types of Realism
1) Classical Realism
Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes
2) Modern Realism
E.H. Carr, Hans J. Morgenthau
3) Neo-Realism
Kenneth Waltz, Jonathan Meirsheimer
Historical context is crucial to the development of different ‘strands’ of Realism

10. Classical Realists Thucydides (460-400BC approx)
Peloponnesian wars BC
“What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.”
Machiavelli ( )
The Prince - “It was for each state or ruler to pursue its own interest: the question of morality in international politics, at least in the sense of moral rules which restrained states in their relations with one another, did not arise” Bull, 1976, p105
On the question of whether it is better to be loved or feared: “I reply that one should like to be both one and the other; but since it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking [emphasis added].”

11. Classical Realists Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) Leviathan (1651)
Chiefly concerned with Civil war and political order at the domestic level
The State of nature : “solitary, poor, nasty brutish and short”
“war of all against all” in the absence of a common power to overawe them
“Because any state may at any time use force, all states must constantly be ready either to counter force with force or to pay the costs of weakness” Waltz, 1959 P160

13. Conclusion:
Realism as a highly distinguished ‘tradition’ in International Relations; and perhaps the most powerful
Professes to analyse international relations/international politics objectively and eschews universal moral principles—non-normative theory
Takes its roots in historical and philosophical traditions and discourses
Key writings from realist tradition include the works of Thucydides, Machiavelli and Hobbes

14. Tomorrow
A look at ‘modern’ Realism and its development vis-à-vis historical circumstances
Examples of Realism ‘in action’
Possible Challenges to the Realist paradigm?