Lecture 2

The development of IR theory in XX century

International relations theory is the study of international relations from a

theoretical perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon
which international relations can be analyzed. The 2 most popular theories are
realism, liberalism.

Realism or political realism has been the dominant theory of international

relations since the conception of the discipline. The theory claims to rely upon an
ancient tradition of thought which includes writers such
as Thucydides1, Machiavelli2, and Hobbes3. Early realism can be characterized as a
reaction against interwar idealist thinking. The outbreak of World War II was seen
by realists as evidence of the deficiencies of idealist thinking. There are various
strands of modern day realist thinking. However, the main tenets of the theory have
been identified as statism, survival, and self-help.
 Statism: Realists believe that nation states are the main actors in
international politics. As such it is a state-centric theory of international relations.
This contrasts with liberal international relations theories which accommodate
roles for non-state actors and international institutions. This difference is
sometimes expressed by describing a realist world view as one which sees nation
states as billiard balls, liberals would consider relationships between states to be
more of a cobweb.

1
Four of the essential assumptions of realistic approach to international relations are found in
Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.
1. The state is the principal actor in war and politics in general.
2. The state is assumed to be a unitary actor: once a decision is made to go to war or
capitulate, the state speaks and acts with one voice.
3. Decision makers acting in the name of the state are assumed to be rational actors.
Rational decision making leads to the advance of the national interest.
A state’s need to protect itself from enemies both foreign and domestic. A state augments its security by
building up its economic prowess and forming alliances with other states.
2
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) argued that a leader needs to be ever mindful of threats to his personal
security and the security of the state. One of the most influential works during this burgeoning period
was Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, written between 1511–12 and published in 1532. Machiavelli
presents a pragmatic and somewhat consequentialist view of politics, whereby good and evil are mere
means used to bring about an end, i.e. the secure and powerful state.
3
The central tenet accepted by virtually all realists is that states exist in an anarchic international system.
Thomas Hobbes originally articulated this tenet, and maintained that each state has the right to preserve
themselves.
  Survival: Realists believe that the international system is governed by
anarchy, meaning that there is no central authority. Therefore, international politics
is a struggle for power between self-interested states.
 Self-help: Realists believe that no other states can be relied upon to help
guarantee the state's survival.

Realism makes several key assumptions. It assumes that nation-states are

unitary, geographically based actors in an anarchic international system with no
authority above capable of regulating interactions between states as no true
authoritative world government exists. Secondly, it assumes
that sovereign states, rather than IGOs, NGOs or MNCs, are the primary actors
in international affairs. Thus, states, as the highest order, are in competition
with one another. As such, a state acts as a rational autonomous actor in pursuit
of its own self-interest with a primary goal to maintain and ensure its own
security—and thus its sovereignty and survival. Realism holds that in pursuit of
their interests, states will attempt to amass resources, and that relations between
states are determined by their relative levels of power. That level of power is in
turn determined by the state's military, economic, and political capabilities.
Liberalism makes for a more complex and less cohesive body of theory
than Realism. The basic insight of the theory is that the national characteristics
of individual States matter for their international relations. This view contrasts
sharply with Realist account, in which all States have essentially the same goals
and behaviours (at least internationally)—self-interested actors pursuing wealth
or survival. Liberal theorists have often emphasized the unique behaviour of
liberal States, though more recent work has sought to extend the theory to a
general domestic characteristics-based explanation of international relations.
A more general liberal theory of international relations, based on three core
assumptions: (i) individuals and private groups, not States, are the fundamental
actors in world politics (→ Non-State Actors); (ii) States represent some
dominant subset of domestic society, whose interests they serve; and (iii) the
configuration of these preferences across the international system determines
State behavior.
States are not simply ‘black boxes’ seeking to survive and prosper in an
anarchic system. They are configurations of individual and group interests who
then project those interests into the international system through a particular
kind of government. Survival may very well remain a key goal. But commercial
interests or ideological beliefs may also be important.
Neoliberalism, liberal institutionalism or neo-liberal institutionalism is an
advancement of liberal thinking. It argues that international institutions can
allow nations to successfully cooperate in the international system.