This presentation is about key terms of structural realism for BA students. It provides basic terms of realism.

1. STRUCTURAL REALIST VOCABULARY
FOR BEGINNERS
Dr. Ibrahim Koncak
Department of International Relations

2. TERMS OF REALISM
• Power: Ability to make others do (or not do) what you want them to do.
• Structural Realism: Also, called as neorealism, system analysis of
International Relations or third level analysis.
• Great Powers: The main actors in the realist account or big states in terms of
military and economic power such as the USA, China, Russia etc.
• Balance of power: Theory in International Relations suggest that national
security is enhanced when military capability distributed so that no one state
is strong enough to dominate others. Example; Concert of Europe

3. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• Regime type: it is not important for realist the regime of a state, state is state and actions of
a state is determined by structure which is anarchic, or no central authority- no world
government.
• Black Boxes: Structural realists treats states as if they were black boxes that is who makes
decisions in a states is not important, they tend not to see what is inside state in terms of
foreign policy decisions. State behave alike only some states are more or less powerful than
others.
• Defensive Realists: Theorists such as Kenneth Waltz (Theory of International Politics 1979) who
claims that it is unwise for states to try to maximize their share of world power, because the
system will punish them if they attempt to gain too much power.

4. • Offensive Realists: Theorists such as John Mearsheimer (The Tragedy of Great
Power Politics,2001) who maintain that it makes good strategic sense for states
to gain as much power as possible and, if the circumstances are right, to
pursue hegemony. Overwhelming power is the best way to ensure one’s own
survival.
• Latent power: A kind of power. Socioeconomic ingredients, state’s wealth,
the size of overall population, that go into building military power. Raw
potential. Latent power which China has gained over the last few decades.

5. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• Five assumptions: Neorealist assumptions which shape world politics when all
combined.
• Anarchy: Ordering principle, there is no centralized authority or ultimate arbiter
that stands above states. Opposite is hierarchy, ordering principle in domestic
politics.
• Revisionist states: States that are determined to use force to alter the balance of
power.
• Status quo states: States that satisfied enough with balance of power that they have
no interest in using force to change it.

6. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• Rational choice: Calculating costs and benefits carefully when making foreign policy
decisions.
• Self-help world: States have to rely on themselves to ensure their survival.
• Tragedy of great power politics: States to survive have little choice but to assume
the worst about the intentions of other states and to compete for power with them.
• Security Dilemma: A situation in which steps a great power takes to enhance its own
security decrease the security of others leading perpetual security competition.

7. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• International Community: Not so much important in neorealist thought.
state interest is far more important than interests of international
community.
• Hegemony: leadership or dominance, especially when one country dominates
all others in international system only then can ensure survival.
• Balancing: Defensive realist claim that when a states becomes too powerful
other states get into alliances and may weaken or destroy the hegemon.

8. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• offence-defense balance: The defensive realist argument about whether conquest
pays or not
• Central Wars: Conflicts involving all or almost all great powers
• Security Dilemma: the paradox that occurs when a state seek to improve its own
security, resulting in the decreased security of other states. At the hard of security
dilemma is the idea that security is a relative concept: all actors cannot have more of
it.
• Buck-passing: When a state in balancing coalition attempt to get other states to
assume the burden of checking powerful opponent while it remains on the sidelines.

9. TERMS OF STRUCTURAL REALISM
• Deterrence: Deterrence is a strategy intended to dissuade an adversary from
taking an action not yet started, or to prevent them from doing something
that another state desires.
• Preponderant power: superior, satisfied major state in the system