This chapter discusses realism as a dominant theory of international relations. It explores different strands of realist thought including structural realism, neoclassical realism, and rational choice realism. The chapter outlines three key tenets of realism: statism which sees states as the most important actors; survival as states' primary objective; and self-help where states rely on themselves for security due to the anarchic international system. It also examines criticisms of realism and provides a case study on the Melian dialogue to illustrate realist concepts in preparation for war.

1. Baylis, Smith & Owens:
The Globalization of World Politics 5e
Chapter 5
Realism

2. The ‘timeless wisdom’ of Realism
• The dominant theory of world politics
throughout history of academic IR
• Even longer history outside academia
– Classical political theorists: Thucydides,
Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Rousseau
– Grounded in scepticism about the capacity
of human reason to deliver moral progress

3. The Salience of Realist Thought
• Unifying theme: states in anarchy
cannot take their security for granted,
and therefore rationally compete for
power and security
• Today, continues to attract academics
and inform policy-makers
• Some questions about applicability of
realist assumptions since the end of the
cold war

4. One Realism, or many?
• Lack of consensus in literature
• Different types:
– Those who grant theoretical primacy to
human nature
– Those who accentuate the importance of
international anarchy and the distribution of
power in the international system

5. One Realism, or many?
• Structural realism:
– States as security maximizers (defensive
realism)
– States as power maximizers (offensive
realism)
• Neoclassical realism:
– Includes individual and unit variation
• Rational choice realism:
– Conceives of IR as bargaining process
– Recognizes importance of international
institutions

6. The essential Realism
• Statism: the centrepiece of Realism
– State as the pre-eminent actor (all other actors
in world politics are of lesser significance)
– ‘Sovereignty’: the existence of an independent
political community with juridical authority over
its territory
– Key criticisms:
• Empirical: challenges to state power from ‘above’
and ‘below’
• Normative: the inability of sovereign states to
respond to collective global problems - famine,
environmental degradation, and human rights
abuses

7. The essential Realism
• Survival: the primary objective of all states
– All other goals such as economic prosperity
are secondary (or ‘low politics’)
– To preserve state security, leaders judge
actions according to the outcome
– Any moral universals for political realists can
only be concretized in particular communities
– Key criticism (normative): are there no limits to
what actions a state can take in the name of
necessity?

8. The essential Realism
• Self-help: No other state or institution can
guarantee survival
– Structure of system and absence of global
government does not permit friendship, trust, and
honour, only uncertainty
– Coexistence through the maintenance of the
balance of power
– Limited co-operation possible in interactions where
you stand to gain more
– Key criticism: not inevitable but selected by states,
and sometimes states select other options
(collective security, security communities)

9. Case study
The Melian dialogue –
realism and the preparation for war

10. Case study
The Melian dialogue –
realism and the preparation for war