International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   Political Realism is a philosophical approach to the study of politics – and especially international politics – that is widely regarded as the most enduring and influential tradition in the field. As Robert Keohane put it in 1983 , “for over 2000 years, what Hans J. Morgenthau dubbed ‘Political Realism’ has constituted the principal traditions for the analysis of international relations in Europe and its offshoots in the New World” ( Keohane 1983 ; also Walt 2003 ). Michael Doyle (1997) agrees, describing realism as the “oldest theory” of international politics but also the “dominant” one. There are many different realist theories within that broad tradition, but each of them sees states as the central actors in world affairs and emphasizes that they coexist in an anarchic social order where there is no central authority to protect them from one another. As a result, realist theories see the insecurity of states (or in some cases, substate groups) as the central problem in international relations. In short, realism depicts the international system as a realm where “self-help” is the primary motivation; states must provide security for themselves because no other agency or actor can be counted on to do so. In general, realist theories define “security” as the security of the state and place particular emphasis on the preservation of the state's territorial ... log in or subscribe to read full text