Perhaps the true path lies in combination. One is the spread of democracy throughout most of the world. There is a lack of negotiation between states, and moral behavior is … Realism and Neo-realism are two different schools of thought that showed a difference between them when it comes to their outlook on international relations. Towards a Just International Relations Theory : Honors Thesis. Realism provides the core intellectual para- meters and scholarly questions focused on the anarchy, power and statecraft. I can think of a few exceptions to this pattern, but it is striking how few card-carrying realists are prolific collaborators and how few liberal IR scholars are consistent lone wolves. One will remember, I hope, that states act in their own interest, a concept not too far from human choices in the name of self-advancement and the accrual of resources, first for survival, and eventually as whims of luxury, paralleled by the section in Thomas Hobbes work, which says the first [competition] maketh man invade for gain, the second [diffidence] for safety and the third [glory] for reputation (Hobbes : Leviathan, 1651). Thus, we now have the opposite of realism itself, the liberal school of thought. Theories of International Relations. In my opinion, for all the disagreement that has been in existence with both schools of thought, perhaps the true path lies in combination. Date written: June 2011, All content on the website is published under the following Creative Commons License, Copyright © — E-International Relations. Realism is, therefore, primarily concerned with states and their actions in the international system, as driven by competitive self-interest. Any student of international relations can be counted on to study the basic foundations of IR, which are the theories behind the study of IR itself. Copyright © 2003 - 2020 - UKEssays is a trading name of All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Moreover, there is nothing called sinful human nature but a bad behaviour refers to the evil institutions and structural arrangements that prompt those to perform self-centred and to harm others including making war. Though constructivism is a separate theory of international relations, it does not necessarily contradict realism and liberalism. Insofar as self-preservation and the gain of resources and prestige remain aims of the human creature, then maybe, taken collectively, these aims can and are being projected across state borders. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Whereas realism sees state violence as the norm, liberalism views it as a pathological exception to be isolated, sanctioned, and constrained by the mainstream majority of the international community. Among the most prevalent of these theories are realism and liberalism. This article will comparatively elaborate the primary ones in this respect, namely classical Liberalism and classical Realism. It is then reasonable to contend that realism places man as a creature whose greatest instinct is self-preservation. This is a paper I wrote for my Introduction to International relations class. This system drives states towards war, through power struggles. It’s worthy to mention that neorealist or structural realist such as Waltz, Jervis, and Mearsheimer focuses on the international system instead of human nature while states remain the main actors. All Rights Reserved | Site by Rootsy. Accordingly, the following main concepts are discussed human nature, power, security, survival, security dilemma and anarchy being the basic assumptions of each theory guiding us somewhat to Liberalism as the appropriate approach to maintain a harmonious peaceful environment in the world of politics. Two of these frameworks constantly discussed in international relations are the theories of Neo-realism and Liberalism; two theories with their own outlook at the way politicians should govern their country as well as how they should deal with others. Besides, the essential human concern is the public interests rather than individually as expressed in realism consequently. Written at: De La Salle University Manila, Philippines (DLSU-M) Written for: Mr. Al James D. Untalan Liberalism disagrees with realism/political realism on many key assumptions. Realism and neo-realism explain the word as it is. Registered Data Controller No: Z1821391. Nevertheless, another idea was associated with collective security is the right of every nation of self-determination is a major key that has been taken into consideration in the liberal theory. Constructivism is more of a social theory that explains the actions of states and actors belonging to these states. According to Baylis, Smith and Owens (2008), liberalism is a good theory of governing within states and between peoples and states internationally contrastingly realism is regarded as an anarchic sphere, liberals look for project values of order, autonomy, impartiality and toleration into international relations. Thus, realism holds that international organizations and other trans-state or sub-state actors hold little real influence, in the face of states as unitary actors looking after themselves. Liberalism emphasizes that the broad ties among states have both made it difficult to define national interest and decreased the usefulness of military power. Additionally, as long as armed conflict, ideological rifts and possibilities of aggression remain, then realism will continue as a valid means of interpreting international politics, since yet another of its core assumptions lie in the measurement of power in terms of military capability, within an anarchic global system, where natural antagonism presents little possibility for peace and cooperation. Having said that, I think liberalism is no longer just a projection of how politics ought to be, but is now a modern, practical theory of peace achieved in the midst of anarchic conditions and even after the state’s quest for power. LIBERALISM AND REALISM International Relation is the study of how countries interact on the international stage, in which it also represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues. Speaker Notes – Liberalism vs. Realism. Introduction: when thinking about how the world works IR scholars usually subscribe to one of two dominant theories, realism or liberalism. On the other hand, another effect of the Great War was that sustained the liberal thoughts to reconsider peace as a constructed process rather than a natural condition. bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. The idea of the League of Nations was generated to promote peace among states and reduce conflicts especially after World War 2 but unfortunately failed due to deficiency of military power to deter any potential of law’s infringement that would lead to what occurred during the mid of the twentieth century. As a matter of fact, realists’ assumption is the Prisoner’s Dilemma, a zero sum game where each actor tries to win and betray the other to be the trump card. While realism is taken to portray pessimism in the relations between states in the international system, liberalism depicts optimism and positivism in as far as the relations and goals of states in the international system are concerned. Bronfenbrenner, u neville, r america children under years of life, and these representations also change, and biological, social, and psychological maturation. Basically, the liberals underline that states are not unitary actors and non-states actors are significant to take a part in the realm since states are not rational and all actors will function better together. This is not an example of the work produced by our Essay Writing Service. Besides, states are considered the only unitary rational actors where its survival and interests is the cornerstone of interstates relation highly based on might rather than on right. The similarity between neoliberalism and structural realism is that both based on state-centric perspectives means that state is a unitary rational actor dominates the international system. One supposes then, that with its dark assumptions and premises of antagonistic condition, realism is tied to some of the fundamental questions of what constitutes ‘human nature’ with an emphasis on the limits of humanity’s altruism, well-expressed by Heinrich von Treitschke, saying it is above all important not to make greater demands of human nature than its frailty can satisfy (Treitschke : Politics, 1916). Additionally, power and security dilemma is a secondary objective. According to (Kegley, 1995) the nature of humans is essentially good and people are capable of mutual aid and collaboration. Realism: bases on states’ intent for self-preservation through maintaining power. Furthermore, liberals argue for the progress and perfectibility of the human condition as well as a degree of confidence in the removal of the stain of war from human experience (Gardner, 1990/Hoffmann, 1995/Zacher and Matthew, 1995 ; taken from Burchill : Theories of International Relations 3/E, 2005). It is an intellectual tradition built on distinct concepts and arguments about what governs politics among states. But liberalism provides the modernizing vision. Among the main faults ascribed to realism are its disability to predict and account for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the pervasive peace between liberal nations (McMurtrie : Towards Just International Relations Theory, Honors Thesis, 2007). A second is the multiple networks of communications, trade, and finance often summarised as globalization. Thus, liberals attempt to diminish the concept of anarchy in the political sphere to move beyond that to accentuate the individual freedom and non state actors to be the prominent cornerstone of international politics rather than the state itself as in realism. Hutchings (1999) expressed that as Neorealism most commonly demonstrated by Kenneth Waltz who argues that the conception of the international is, in line with political realism, one which stresses the international as being fundamentally anarchic, lacking a principle of order. Whereas realism deals mainly with security and material power, and liberalism looks primarily at economic interdependence and domestic-level factors, constructivism most concerns itself with the role of ideas in shaping the international system; indeed it is possible there is some overlap between constructivism and realism or liberalism, but they remain separate schools of thought. Realism and Liberalism Realism and Liberalism are two major and dominant theories in global politics. Realism believes in conflicts, aggression, militaristic expansions and Liberalism believes in measuring of power trough countries economy, in the cooperation and peace, in the nation/people`s rights and in ideas of political and nations/peoples freedom. Self-determination was along with in the Charter of the League of Nations and currently taken as a resolution in by the United Nations has also failed to be practically implemented. Many thanks! Therefore, for Liberalism, economic prosperity is a tool to help in the state’s survival and can be considered as “high politics”, or of great importance, whereas for Realism economic prosperity is of secondary importance, or “low politics”. Though they have different approaches, there are some important similarities between the two as well. The significance of both lies in their capacity to explain opposite phenomena, and though both are clearly antithetical, perhaps the answer to the question of how the world operates will lie not in the thesis and antithesis, but in the synthesis of both. Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to Free resources to assist you with your university studies! International Relations' Theories Realism vs. Liberalism. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! Power will be everlasting in the human’s nature and the possibility to be eradicated is a utopian aspiration (Kegley, 1995). The third is the multiplication of intergovernmental organizations, especially those composed primarily of democratic governments. Dunne, Kurki, and Smith (2010) stated that neoliberalism centres on the part international institutions cooperate in attaining international collective outcomes the reason it’s called ‘neoliberal institutionalism’. One pragmatic approach for state advancement blended with a belief in humanity’s inherent potentials. Therefore, this work applied the analogical and analytical approach to pinpoint the deficiencies of each theory and to figure out smoothly the most convincing basis of the tow controversies. Realism is conservative and pessimistic. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Deterrence was highly used during the Cold War between the United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). *You can also browse our support articles here >. Baylis, Smith and Owens (2008) explained the significance of self-help system through Waltz’s Theory of International Politics (1979) when they wrote. On the other hand, the concept of deterrence is a good example to explain balance of power; it’s widely used by states to deter each other from any potential attack. Still, the debate continues as to which school remains the most relevant and timely, with regards to the interpretation of the international system. Following Hans Morgenthau’s thinking that the social world is but a projection of human nature onto the collective plane (Morgenthau: Politics Among Nations, 1948), one can contend as well that perhaps, the international system as viewed from the realist lens, is also a projection of collective human nature (the state) and eventually, this ‘collective nature’ is manifested in the anarchy of the global stage. 1st Jan 1970 One, classical/neo-realist thought, is more pessimistic about the prospects of peace, cooperation, and human progress whilst the other, liberalism/idealism, is more upbeat and sanguine about human nature and human possibilities. Classical realism trace back its origins to Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian wars (Hutchings, 1999).The drive for power and the eagerness to control are held to be fundamental aspects of human nature. Neo-realism and Structural Liberalism: Can Anarchy Really Be Transcended? As Baylis, Smith and Owens (2008), explained that though natural harmony of interests in international political and economic relations came under the challenge in the early part of the twentieth century, the high interdependent economic ties between Germany and Britain after World War 1 has been threaten due to the fatal consequences of such conflict with 15 millions casualties a distraction in the European civilization of competence between progress and industrial power had effected the basic ground of liberalism to be spoken well. Company Registration No: 4964706. Besides, the United States foreign policy in the Middle East is always justified under national interests of insecurity that gives the right to infringe the international humanitarian laws. This chapter examines the research agenda of liberal and realist IR theorists in studying global environmental change. For this reason, states still amass power even under the liberal system, the main difference being the fact that power is now better accrued if more cooperation is realized within the framework of international politics. All that said, however accurately realism can account for aggression, conflict and militaristic-expansionist policies, its assumptions prevent it from possessing effective explanatory capacity when it comes to the concept of transnational cooperation, free trade, the relative peacefulness of the international system, the prevalence of democratic governance and the growing emphasis on economic linkage and globalization. Realism and liberalism provide pictures that relate and coexist, yet are opposite in theory. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Thus, security is followed by human nature is a critical issue where the difference between the two theories emerged and the way to achieve it was in various ways either by harsh power as realism exercised or by the peaceful diplomatic means of liberalism as preferred to maintain peace. E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Realism and liberalism as theories and strategies of foreign policy occupy centrestage together. Above and beyond, realists’ view of justice is justified by other means once the state exerts efforts to achieve either a long or short term of national interests. Intermestic Realism: Domestic Considerations in International Relations. I. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. The Enlightenment’s devotion in the opportunity of developing civilization is restated. Two theories which take these arguments forward towards peace and resolution of conflicts in international theory are realism and liberalism. Liberals are more understanding of the international system expressing their thoughts and relations peacefully seeking for collective security to reduce conflicts and maintain a balance of power among states. I’m of the opinion that Liberalism is noticeably a more convincing approach to dominate in the arena of international politics. Thus, the term given to this spiral of insecurity is the security dilemma. Liberalism and realism are among the theories that are commonly used in political science in explaining the relations between players in the international political scene. Balance of power is an argumentative issue for many classical and contemporary theorists, as a matter of fact; Dunne, Kurki, and Smith (2010) hinted that current realists consider military capabilities the foundation of security and the Greeks were very insensitive to the value of alliances. This shift creates the need for greater linkage (therefore, the new emphasis on globalization) as well as increased cooperation. This content was originally written for an undergraduate or Master's program. In conclusion, the crux of argument between liberalism and realism as two important theories in the sphere of international relations as mentioned above are focused on the cause of war and conflicts between states in the globalization of world politics. The Concept of ‘World Society’ in International Relations, A Critical Reflection on Sovereignty in International Relations Today, A Conceptual Analysis of Realism in International Political Economy, An Ethical Dilemma: How Classical Realism Conceives Human Nature. In order for countries to cohesively overcome international barriers, frameworks of ideal political standards must be established. There is a lack of impact from international organizations. Recognising that liberalism and realism are broad groupings which include many thinkers with notable disagreements, it becomes necessary to define the theories to which we are referring. Until the present, professors still speak of the motto from the 1651 work of Thomas Hobbes, entitled Leviathan, that speaks of the state of nature being prone to what Hobbes calls bellum omnium contra omnes or the war of all against all ( Hobbes : De Cive, 1642 and Leviathan, 1651), as well as Francis Fukuyama naming Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government (Fukuyama : The End of History and the Last Man, 1992). Conversely, Hobbes versus Rousseau that human nature is naturally competitive and violent (classical realists’ view of international system). Realism vs. Liberalism in America foreign policy Realism Vs Liberalism in America Foreign Policy Introduction Realism has long been one of the main theoretical approaches to the study of international relations. As such, liberalism is commonly considered to be the main competing theoretical approach to the dominant IR theory of realism. As it stands, in my opinion, liberalism operates under real-world conditions, reflecting state interest and aggrandizement, if only that such advancement results in peace instead of the expected dose of conflict. To begin, unlike political realism, which views the state as the primary actor, liberalism/pluralism sees non-state actors as highly important in the international system. This need for linkage and economic progress then accounts for the liberalist’s stress on free trade and market capitalism, as well as allowing for the legitimate selection of government through democratic action. Liberalism is progressive and optimistic. By admin November 23, 2020 Theories on IR 0 Comments : International relations are driven on various theories. However, as the study of IR continues, we will continue to seek the answers to the engaging questions of foreign policy that confront today’s global system. The frequent comparisons made between realism and liberalism in the IR literature typically entail realism advancing a pessimistic view of human nature, versus the more optimistic view espoused by liberalism. In my opinion, there need not be an overarching stress on the frailties of humanity even if world peace seems too lofty of an ideal. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. “By anarchy the most often meant is that international politics takes place in an arena that has no overarching central authority above the individual collection of sovereign states” (p.93).However, Realists believe that anarchy is a distinctive feature of realism since the notion of autonomy held with accumulative power is an inevitable situation “struggle for power… whenever [nations] strive to realize their goal by means of international politics, they do so by striving for power”(sullvian,200,p.115) , shows that anarchy is followed by states maximization of power to increase their security. realism, it’s a much more straightforward and rudimentary definition, with power simply being military force (Heywood, 2011), while liberalism lack a specific definition. Realism depicts competition in the relations between … Politics Francis Fukuyama, quite notably, believed that progress in human history can be measured by the elimination of global conflict and the adoption of principles of legitimacy and observed the extent to which liberal democracies have transcended their violent instincts (Burchill :  Theories of International Relations 3/E, 2005). These concepts are almost anathema to all but the most hedged and doubtful of realism’s proponents. That having been established as core assumptions of liberal international theory, can it be supposed, that since there are observable limits to human nature and altruistic action, as in the realist school of thought, liberalism is therefore overly idealistic in its belief in human capacity and the eventual obsolescence of war as the measure of state power in the international system? Liberalism developed in the 1970s as some scholars began arguing that realism was outdated. support open access publishing. Hence, realists believe that people are by nature sinful and instinctively seeking power to dominant others. The assumptions of the two theories contradict each other. Some will always say realism is politics as it is while liberalism is an example of politics idealized. Realists plan for permanence of the current international state of affairs. According to Wheeler and Booth, security dilemmas exist ‘when the military preparations of one state create an unresolvable uncertainty in the mind of another as to whether those preparations are for “defensive” purposes only (to enhance its security in an uncertain world) or whether they are for offensive purposes (to change the status quo to its advantage)’ (p.102). I say this on the basis that a shift in the definition of ‘power’ from military capability to economic status. Written by: Bea Kylene Jumarang Liberalism shifts the context from philosophical to political. Burchill, S. (2005) Realism and Liberalism : Theories of International Relations, 3/E. They both have contrasting ideas when dealing with how states should relate to each other. To begin, unlike political realism, which views the state as the primary actor, liberalism/pluralism sees non-state actors as highly important in the international system. In addition to, liberals don’t agree to reach that level of high politics which create a state of nature where there is no sovereign authority compelled. Political realism (or realpolitik) is the oldest and most widely adopted theory of international relations.. Like 'liberalism', 'realism' has different meanings in philosophy, science, literature and the arts. It’s highly merited to admit that liberalism school of thought has a profound influence in promoting many positive values towards humanity and progressive support to enhance the sphere of political science and especially international relations. Liberalism, in stark contrast to realism, believes in the measurement of power through state economies, the possibility of peace and cooperation, as well as the concepts of political freedoms, rights and the like. Realism is a dominant theory of international relations focuses on state’s security and power (high politics) primarily. Indeed, peace is to liberals is a value that can be easily accomplished through international organizations as the preceded US president and among the first pioneers of liberalism was Woodrow Wilson suggestion to regulate the international anarchy. Liberalism can be attributed to a political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual and their economic activities to be paramount in nation-states, while Realism is based on certain assumptions or premises that nation-states are the dominant actors within the political economy and the proper units of analysis. All work is written to order. Any Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? Looking for a flexible role? On the contrary, classical realists consider capabilities the only source of power. Basically, the current work is meant to explain the key differences between the most two dominant theories in international relations, Realism and Liberalism, providing the precise and concise statements of some authors’ key words to help the reader to identify the most relevant and appropriate theory to be used as a methodological instrument to resolve the complexities of the contemporary world issues. 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