CONTEMPORARY THEORETICAL DEBATES IN
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
• What can be said to exist, or what is real in international
politics (an ontological question);
• How can we understand the world and what is the status of the
knowledge claims we make about the world (an
epistemological question) and;
• What methods we should adopt in our study (a methodological
question).
REALISM- KEY CONCEPTS
• Realism
• State
• Power (Hard & Soft Power)
• National Interest
• Anarchy
• Conflict
KEY CONCEPTS
• Realism is the most well-established theoretical perspective in
International Relations.
• The unifying theme around which all realist thinking converges is that
states find themselves in the shadow of anarchy such that their security
cannot be guaranteed.
• Realism is not a unified school of thought/ theory, but has many strands.
REALISM- KEY CONCEPTS: ANARCHY
• A condition in which there exists no centralised sovereign authority that enforces
the rule of law.
• Realists are concerned with anarchy at the international level where there is no
authority higher than the state.
• The anarchic principle allows realism to present a pessimistic analysis of the
prospects for international cooperation and of the capabilities of international
institutions.
• International anarchy fosters competition and conflict among states and inhibits
their willingness to cooperate even when they share common interest.
REALISM- KEY CONCEPTS: BALANCE OF
POWER
• Balance of power theory explains the behaviour of state functioning in anarchic international
system.
• It is natural that some states are more powerful than other in the system.
• Balance of power is the logic behind the existing many states in international system with
unequal capability.
• Balance of power prevent powerful states to weak nations such that they cooperate for peace
and prosperity.
• For Morgenthau, Divide and Rule; compensations; Armaments; Alliance; presence of holder
are the key methods to obtain balance of power (Morgenthau, 1993).
REALISM- KEY CONCEPTS: POWER
• Hans Morgenthau (1954: 25) famously proclaimed that international politics, like all
politics, is a struggle for power and “whatever the ultimate aims of international
politics, power is always the immediate aim.”
• For all realists, calculations about power lie at the core of how states perceive the
world around them.
• While realists agree that power is a key determinant in political relations, there is a
variation in how individual realists understand the concept.
• For instance, classical realists posit that the permanent struggle for power stems from
the fundamental human drive for power.
REALISM- KEY CONCEPTS: POWER
• In contrast, for structural or neo-realists, it is the architecture of the international system
that forces states to pursue power and maximize their power position.
• Hard Power: military and economic might.
• Soft Power: getting others to want the outcomes that you want- co-opts people rather
than coerces them.
• Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others.
• Soft power is synonymous with democratic politics.
• Soft power is not merely the same as influence.
• In behavioural terms soft power is attractive power.
STRANDS OF REALISM
• Classical Realism: Hans Morgenthau- Politics Among Nations
• Morgenthau argued that politics is governed by laws that are created
by human nature. The mechanism we use to understand international
politics is through the concept of interests, defined in terms of power.
• Structural Realism: Kenneth Waltz- Theory of International Politics.
STRANDS OF REALISM
• For Waltz, anarchy leads to a logic of self-help in which states seek to
maximize their security. The most stable distribution of power is
bipolarity.
• Neoclassical Realism: John Mearsheimer (Tragedy of Great Power
Politics)
• Mearsheimer contends that the anarchical, self-help system compels
states to maximize their relative power position.
CLASSICAL REALISM
Type of Realism
Key Thinker
Key Text
Big Idea
Classical Realism
(Human nature)
Thucydides
The Peloponnesian War
International relations is driven by
an endless struggle for power which
has its roots in human nature.
Justice, law and society have either
no place or are circumscribed.
Machiavelli
The Prince
Political realism recognizes that
principles are subordinated to
policies; the ultimate skill of the
state leader is to accept, and adapt
to, the changing power political
configurations
in
international
relations.
Hans Morgenthau
Politics among Nations
Politics is governed by laws that are
created by human nature. The
mechanism we use to understand
international relations is through
the concept of interest defined in
terms of power.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF REALISM
• States are the key actors in international relations.
• Sovereignty, or independence and self-control, is the defining characteristic of the state.
• States are motivated by a drive for power, security and pursuit of the national interest
States, like men, behave in a self-interested manner.
• The central problem in international relations is the condition of anarchy, which means
the lack of a central sovereign authority at the global level to regulate relations between
states.
• The aggressive intent of states, combined with the lack of world government, means
that conflict is an unavoidable and ever-present reality of international relations.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF REALISM
• An appearance of order and security can be maintained by shifting alliances
among states so preventing any one state from becoming overwhelmingly
powerful and, thus, constituting a threat to the peace and security of others.
• International institutions and law play a role in international relations but are
only effective if backed by force or effective sanction.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF REALISM
• Power is the key to understanding international behavior and state motivation.
• For realists the main form of power is military or physical power.
• Human nature can be said to be inherently selfish and constant.
• As a result, humans will act to further their own interests even to the detriment
of others, which can often lead to conflict.
• Because human nature is unchanging, there is little prospect that this kind of
behavior will change.
• Morality
CRITIQUE OF REALISM
• It overlooks the co-operative strain in human nature.
• States are not only in conflict, but they also share common interests and
observe common rules which confer mutual rights and duties.
• It ignores other important actors besides states, such as IGOs and NGOs. In
doing so, Realists do not fully account for a range of issues and processes in
international relations.
• Realism plays down the extent to which the relations of states are governed by
international law.
CRITIQUE OF REALISM
• It also downplays the extent to which international politics are progressive,
i.e. co-operation instead of conflict can prevail.
• National interest is recognised as a value, but it is not the only value that is
important in international relations.
• Realism, in emphasizing the principle of power politics and the enduring
features of the international system, fails to allow for the possibility of real
change.
• Morality
LIBERALISM: KEY CONCEPTS
• Interdependence
• Democratic Peace
• Civil Society
• Mutual Gains
• Institutions
HISTORY OF LIBERALISM
• The origin of liberal thought can be divided into political and economic strands.
• Political Liberalism is influenced by Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John Locke
and Jeremy Bentham.
• Economic Liberalism is rooted in an intellectual tradition stretching back to the
works of Adam Smith and David Ricardo.
• Economic Liberals argued that it will be beneficial in the long run to all if markets
are allowed to operate freely without state interventions and if countries are
able to trade openly and freely with each other.
HISTORY OF LIBERALISM
• Liberalism has a strong claim to be the historic alternative to Realism – it was spawned in
an era referred to in scholarship as idealism.
• There was a brief resurgence of liberalism – reaching its high point with the formation of
the UN and it was subsequently almost extinguished by the Cold War.
• There have been many innovations in liberal theory since the 1970s which are reflected
in several distinctive strands of thought within liberalism.
• For example, idealism, pluralism, interdependence theory, transnationalism, liberal
institutionalism, liberal peace theory, neo-liberal institutionalism and world society
approaches.
HISTORY OF LIBERALISM
• In the 1970s a liberal literature on transnational relations and world society
developed.
• The liberal pluralist pointed to the growing importance of multinational
corporations (MNCs), Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), pressure groups,
and inter-governmental organisations (IGOs, as evidence that states were no
longer the only significant actors in international relations.
• Liberal pluralists believed that power, influence and agency in international
relations were now exercised by a range of different types of actors.
HISTORY OF LIBERALISM
• By the 1980s conflict was not a major process in international relations as,
increasingly, cooperation in pursuit of mutual interests was a prominent feature
of international relations.
• In 1990, it saw a brief resurgence in the New World Order.
• After 9/11, the pendulum swung back towards a realist pole in the USA.
• Despite the above, liberals have made important contributions to the study of
international relations in the areas of international order, institutions and
processes of governance, human rights, democratization, peace and economic
integration.
KEY CONCEPTS OF LIBERALISM
• Liberalism: The liberal tradition in IR emphasizes the great potential for human
progress lies in modern civil society and the capitalist economy, both of which
can flourish in states which guarantee individual liberty. The modern liberal state
invokes a political and economic system that will bring peace and prosperity.
Relations between liberal states will be collaborative and cooperative.
• Liberal Internationalism: The belief that political activity should be framed in
terms of a universal human condition rather than in relations to the
particularities of any given nation.
KEY CONCEPTS OF LIBERALISM
• Democratic Peace: The democratic peace thesis makes two claims: first liberal polities exhibit
restraint in their relations with other liberal polities, secondly, liberal polities are imprudent in
relations with authoritarian states.
• Co-operation: is required in any situation where parties must act together in order to achieve
a mutually acceptable outcome.
• Idealism: Is about a particular approach to International Relations and should not be
confused with the notion of ‘idealism’ as describing say an unrealistic person. Idealism posits
that people in general are inherently good and have no interest in fighting wars with one
another. The prevention of war comes about through a respect for the rule of law and stable
international institutions which could provide some form of international order conducive to
peace and security.
KEY CONCEPTS OF LIBERALISM
• Institutions: Persistent and having a clear set of rules and practices that prescribe roles,
constrain activity, and shape the expectations of actors. Institutions may include
organizations, bureaucratic agencies, treaties and agreements, and informal practices
that states accept as binding.
• Interdependence: A condition where states (or peoples) are affected by decisions taken
by others. Interdependence can be symmetric, i.e. both sets of actors are affected
equally, or it can be asymmetric, where the impact varies between actors. A condition
where the actions of one state impact upon other states (can be strategic
interdependence or economic). Realists equate interdependence with vulnerability.
KEY CONCEPTS OF LIBERALISM
• Republic: Traditionally this is a term used to describe a secular state in which there is
a separation of powers in government and in which citizens are ruled by law and have
some constitutional rights.
• However, in the contemporary world there are states which exist as (or claim to be)
republics which are not, and do not claim to be, secular.
• An example of such a state is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• The government of Iran does have a number of characteristics of traditional republics,
such as popular elections, parliamentarians, political parties and a constitution.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF LIBERALISM
• Rationality and inherent good nature are the defining characteristics of human
kind.
• Rationality: allows for the pursued and articulation of one’s interests’ ; and
secondly for the ability to understand moral principles and to live according to
the rule of law.
• While people pursue their own interests, there is a potential harmony of
interests between people.
• Cooperation is possible and is in fact a central feature of all human relations,
including international relations.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF LIBERALISM
• Liberalism challenges the distinction between the domestic and
international realms, claiming that multiple sets of relationships between
people transcend national borders.
• Liberals see regimes (institutions) as the most important sources of order
in what is otherwise an anarchic international system.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF LIBERALISM
• The broad tenets of liberalism are; all citizens are juridically equal and possess
certain fundamental human rights and freedoms; the legislative assembly of a
state possesses only the authority invested in it by the citizens (e.g., declaring
war, deploying troops); third, the right of individuals to own property, including
productive forces, finally, the most productive system that ensures growth and
development is largely market-based.
• What are the determinants of peace? individual liberty; free trade; prosperity,
interdependence, self-determination, open governments, responsive to public
opinion, collective security, for some world government – with a capacity to
mediate and enforce decisions.
LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM: FOUR KEY
PREMISES
• International stability and order require building and upholding
appropriately consensual international institutions and norms.
• Building and sustaining relevant international institutions are core aspects
of an international society aiming to bring ‘peace and prosperity’ to all.
• To achieve this goal, it is necessary to discover, cultivate and implement
shared values that help achieve that aim.
• States are no longer automatically the primary actor in world politics in
every context and in every context.
CRITICISM LEVELLED AGAINST LIBERALISM
• One set of criticism centred around the fundamental contradiction
between economic and political liberty.
• This criticism is centred on the liberal support for the free market and the
institutions of private property, which are both central to the liberal
conception of freedom and choice.
• Critics argue that the operation of free markets and the private
ownership of property and resources lead to the progressive
concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN LIBERALISM AND
REALISM
• A positive view on human nature;
• A conviction that IR can be co-operative rather than conflictual;
• A belief in progress;
• Liberals agree with Realists about the anarchic nature of the international
system;
• They do not agree that the absence of a central authority leads to war of
all against all.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN LIBERALISM AND
REALISM
• Instead, they argue that the realisation that mutual gains from co-operation, allows
states and individuals to interact and modify their behaviour.
• Morality should be part of the conduct of international relations.
• International society must re-organised itself in order to eliminate the institutions that
make war likely.
• States must reform their political systems so that democratic governance and civil
liberties within states can protect human rights and help pacify relations among states.
• Finally, in international economic relations, transnational and multinational co-operation
is more important than states.
CORE CONCEPTS OF MARXISM
(STRUCTURALISM)
• Structure- Transformative Marxists and dependency theorists use the term to mean
the fundamental features of the global economy, namely, who owns the means of
production and the pattern of how every country fits into the global division of labour
(relations of production). The central dynamic that Marx identified is the tension
between the means of production and relations of production that together form the
economic base of a given society. As the means of production develop, for example,
through technological advancement, previous relations of production become
outmoded, and indeed become fetters restricting the most effective utilization of the
new productive capacity.
CORE CONCEPTS OF MARXISM
(STRUCTURALISM)
• This in turn leads to a process of social change whereby relations of production
are transformed in order to better accommodate the new configuration of
means. Developments in the economic base act as a catalyst for the broader
transformation of society.
• Super Structure- This structure consist of the legal, political and cultural
institutions and practices of a given society and reflect and reinforce- in a
mediated form- the pattern of power and control in the economy.
• Class- A social stratum sharing economic and political characteristics- the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
CORE CONCEPTS OF MARXISM
(STRUCTURALISM)
• Hegemony- A concept popularized by Antonio Gramsci. For Gramsci, hegemony reflects
his conceptualization of power. Gramsci conceptualize power as a mixture of coercion
and consent. In understanding how the prevailing order was maintained, Marxists had
concentrated almost exclusively on the coercive practices and capabilities of the state.
On this understanding, it was simply coercion, or the fear of coercion, that kept the
exploited and alienated majority in society from rising and overthrowing the system that
was the cause of their suffering. In more developed societies, hegemony was also
maintained through consent. Consent, on Gramsci’s reading, is created and created and
re-created by the hegemony of the ruling class in society. It is this hegemony that allows
the moral, political, and cultural values of dominant group to become widely dispersed
throughout society and to be accepted by subordinate groups and classes as their own.
CORE CONCEPTS OF MARXISM
(STRUCTURALISM)
This takes place through the institutions of civil society: the network of institutions and
practices that enjoy some autonomy from the state, and through which groups and
individuals organize, represent, and express themselves to each other and to the state (for
example, the media, the education system, churches, voluntary organizations, etc.).
• Relations of Production- Form part of the economic base of society.
• Historical Materialism- The central contention here is that processes of historical change
are ultimately a reflection of the economic development of society, That is, economic
development is effectively the motor of history.
CORE CONCEPTS OF MARXISM
(STRUCTURALISM)
• Critical Theory- Has its roots in Western Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Critical theorists
have involved themselves with questions concerning international society, international
ethics and security. Critical theory developed out of the work of the Frankfurt School and
its first generation of scholars included Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno and Herbert
Marcuse. The intellectual concerns of critical theorists are different from other Marxists,
in that they have concentrated on questions relating to culture, bureaucracy, the social
basis and nature of authoritarianism, the structure of the family, and on exploring such
concepts as reason and rationality as well as theories of knowledge. They also focus on
the role of the media, which they termed the cultural industry. As such, critical theory is
almost entirely superstructural.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF MARXISM
• Marxists believe that human beings are perfectible, but only under
socialism, following the elimination of classes.
• Capitalism causes greed and selfishness and that dominates human
behaviour.
• As such they argue that human nature is not fixed, but is conditioned by
prevailing forms of economic, social and political organisations- people
are products of their society.
• States serve the interest of the dominant economic class in society and
define the national interest accordingly.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF MARXISM
• Bourgeois states define the national interest in terms of economic imperialism
and dominance over the ‘periphery’ of poor states.
• Moreover, Marxists argue that states and international institutions play a role in
manging the global capitalist order.
• Marxism emphasis the importance of power and the pursuit of power as the
primary driver of international behaviour.
• They focus on structural economic power- the relative position that groups of states and
classes have in the structure that determines who has control over the means of
production in the world economy.
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF MARXISM
• Marxists entertain a moral assumption, namely that capitalist world is a fundamentally
unjust place, and that it, therefore, must be transformed.
• Morals are often just often use as an ideological smokescreen that is used to hide the
real, determining, economic interests which motivate the behaviour of actors.
• Few actors are seen as crucial economic actors.
• Firstly, there are classes that are distinguished according to their relative control over
the means of production.
• These classes are organised not only within the confines of states, but also
transnationally (like transnational corporations and INGOs).
MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF MARXISM
• Secondly, there are groups of states that internationally compete with one another
for economic dominance (core versus periphery; the Third World versus the First
World; South versus North).
• Thirdly, big economic conglomerates that are organised transnationally (TNCs) are
also regarded as increasingly important players in the world economy, establishing
new patterns of privilege and exploitation.
• The struggle for control over the means of production results in class conflict, which
can only be resolved through the collective ownership of the means of production.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis Realists
Liberals
Marxists
Human nature
Benign; human
beings are
perfectible, and
there exists a
harmony of interests
among people.
Benign; human
beings are
perfectible, but only
under socialism,
following the
elimination of
classes. As long as
capitalism remains,
greed and
selfishness dominate
behaviour.
Aggressive and
selfish with no
natural harmony of
interests among
people. Human
nature cannot be
improved, and
imperfect human
beings cannot be
perfect.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis
Realists
Liberals
Marxists
National Interest
Leaders serve the interest
of their state by
maintaining and
improving its security
rather than serving the
interest of individuals or
some vague global
interests. Focus is mainly
on a few states, the great
powers. International
institutions are suspect as
they pursue interests
other than those of their
state or attempt to wrest
authority from the state.
States exist to serve the
interests of individuals.
States should be limited in
their ability to interfere in
the lives of people. Free
trade and human rights
are key regardless of state
interests.
States serve the interests
of the dominant economic
class in society and define
the national interest
accordingly. Bourgeois
states define the national
interest in terms of
economic imperialism and
dominance over the
‘periphery’ of poor states.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis
International
institutions and
Organisations
Realists
Liberals
States must be
Support
independent,
international
autonomous, and
organisations and
free to act without
institutions like the
limits on sovereignty, UN and the World
United Nations,
Trade Organization
international
(WTO) as
treaties, or other
encouraging peace
entanglements may and providing ways
limit such autonomy. to overcome
collective dilemmas.
Marxists
Support
transnational
institutions created
by socialist societies.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis
Realists
Liberals
Marxists
Nature of the
International system
Pessimistic: wars can be
managed but not
eliminated and the
impediments to global
cooperation are
impossible to overcome
owing to the problem of
trust in a condition of
anarchy. Policies should
enhance power.
Optimistic; wars are
human inventions that
can be prevented by
reforms such as
education, free trade,
economic betterment,
welfare, and democracy.
Policies should enhance
justice. Key actors are
individuals or humanity.
Optimistic; history is
evolving as a reflection of
changing economic forces
that are creating the
conditions for a world
revolution by the
proletariat. Wars are the
result of class conflict.
They can be eliminated by
the end of capitalism and
the introduction of a
classless society. Policies
should enhance equality.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis
Realists
Liberals
Marxists
Security
Economic and military
security as the
principal issues of
global politics; support
for large defence
budgets and
opposition to free
trade that, they fear,
will make countries
less independent.
Human security
consists of far more
than military security.
It includes protection
from ill-treatment,
starvation,
homelessness, disease,
poverty, and other
conditions that may
endanger or threaten
the lives and wellbeing of citizens.
Human security
consists of far more
than military security.
It involves economic
equality and the
fulfilment of basic
material needs.
COMPARING KEY CONCEPTS: THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Views/ Emphasis
Realists
Liberals
Morality
The classical realists do
Liberalism argues
not reject the possibility
that ensuring the right of
of moral judgement in
an individual person to
international politics. They life, liberty and property is
assign supreme value to
the highest goal of
successful political action government.
based on prudence: the
ability to judge the
rightness of a given action
from among possible
alternatives based on its
likely political
consequences.
Marxists
No universal morality
(class morality). Working
class morality is based on
the goal of ending
exploitation and
oppression.