Mason Teng

International Relations
Mr. Manning
10/4/15
Outline
Realism
1. Intro of Realism
a. Held a central position in the study of international relations
b. A school of thought that explains international relations in the
terms of power
c. Focus on realpolitik or power politics
2. Developed in reaction to idealism
a. Realists consider this approach unrealistic
b. Emphasizes international law, morality, and international
organizations
c. Think that human nature is basically good
d. Based on a community of states that have the potential to work
together to overcome mutual problems
3. Important realists
a. Sun Tzu
i.
Chinese strategist
ii.
Advised the rulers of states how to survive in an era
when war had become a systematic instrument of power
iii.
Argued that moral reasoning was not very useful,
faced with armed and dangerous neighbors
b. Thucydides
i.
Greek
ii.
Wrote an account of the Peloponnesian War
focusing on relative power among the Greek city-states
iii.
The strong do what they have the power to do and
the weak accept what they have to accept
c. Niccolo Machiavelli
i.
Italian
ii.
Urged princes to concentrate on expedient actions
to stay in power
iii.
Manipulation of the public and military alliances
d. Thomas Hobbes
i.
English philosopher
ii.
State of nature or state of warwhat we would
now call the law of the jungle in contrast to the rule of law
iii.
Advocating a dominance approach to solve the
collective goods problem in domestic societies
e. Hans Morgenthau
i.
International politics is governed by objective
ii.
Universal laws based on national interests defined
in terms of power
iii.
All nations had to base their actions on prudence
and practicality

4. Realisms ideas
a. Its foundation is the principle of dominance
b. Tend to treat political power as separate from morality, ideology,
and other social and economic aspects of life
c. See states with different religions, ideologies, or economic
systems as quite similar in their actions with regard to national power
d. The choices of states operating as autonomous actors rationally
pursuing their own interests in an international system of sovereign states without
a central authority