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This book brings the idea of realism back to the focus of political science. Contrary to current mainstream thought, the author contributes to the recently renewed interest in political realism by suggesting we return to the basics understanding of politics: power and political action.
Is there a “timeless wisdom” to realism? by Markus Minning Pdf
Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, University of Sheffield (Department of Politics), 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: I argue that there is no ́timeless wisdom ́ to realism, because in my opinion wisdom has nothing to do with realism. If realism is a timeless theory, then it should be viewed differently from the concept of wisdom. Both will be discussed in the following essay. Before we can fully answer the question if there is a ́timeless wisdom ́ to realism, we should focus on the meaning of wisdom. The term wisdom has a varity of different meanings and implications in depending on your particular point of view. If you search the online lexicon encarta, you find for instance explanations of “Western philosophic theories on wisdom”, “wisdom in Chinese philosopic tradition”, mythological definitions of wisdom and there exist other understandings of wisdom. (encarta. 13.11.07) Probably the political scientists have another meaning of wisdom in their mind than the psychologists. For this essay the definition of wisdom will be the one used in the encarta dictionary. It declares wisdom as “the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience.” (encarta dictionary. 13.11.07) When we use this definition, which is of course mainly used to describe the behavior of human beings rather than a political theory, it is very doubtful to describe someone who sees power politics and e.g. the use of war merely as a political instument, as a sensible being. From a realist viewpoint states are “self-help agents” which only see their own interests and carry it through in an anarchic world order. (Doyle et al., 1997, p. 165) In regard to Machiavelli and Hobbes, humans are born bad. Carr and Morgenthau assume that the mankind learned by sociological factors to be self-maximizers. (Brown, 2007) Realist politics is power politics. Morgenthau claims that “power may comprise anything that establishes and maintains the control of man over man. Thus power covers all social relationships which serve that end, from physical violence to the most subtle psychological ties by which one mind controls another.” (Morgenthau, 1948, p. 11) Does this sound sensible? The focus on realism is rather power politics, conflict and war in which the values of cooperation, peace and progress are focused in the theories of liberalism. (Jackson et al, 2003 ) Of course, if we want to be 100 per cent correct, we also have to define the meaning of sensible decisions making, which is used in the definiton of wisedom. This would be the right way to work scientificly.
International Theory by Steve Smith,Ken Booth,Marysia Zalewski Pdf
This book provides a major review of the state of international theory. It is focused around the issue of whether the positivist phase of international theory is now over, or whether the subject remains mainly positivistic. Leading scholars analyse the traditional theoretical approaches in the discipline, then examine the issues and groups which are marginalised by mainstream theory, before turning to four important new developments in international theory (historical sociology, post-structuralism, feminism, and critical theory). The book concludes with five chapters which look at the future of the subject and the practice of international relations. This survey brings together key figures who have made leading contributions to the development of mainstream and alternative theory, and will be a valuable text for both students and scholars of international relations.
Realism and the Liberal Tradition by Whittle Johnston Pdf
This book presents a posthumous collection of previously uncollected works of political theory written by Whittle Johnston. Johnston believed that both the liberal tradition of political thought and the realist tradition of international thought had contributed much to humanity’s store of political wisdom, but that each had limitations that could most easily be recognized by its encounter with the other. His method of accomplishing this task was to examine the liberal conception of political life in general and international political life in particular and then to explore the realist critique of the liberal view, particularly as it was expressed by three great twentieth-century realist thinkers, all of whom were, in their various ways, skeptical of liberal assumptions: Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and E. H. Carr. In doing so, Johnston reveals the power of the realist outlook, but also the areas in which it remains insufficient, and insufficient particularly where it underestimates the complexity and prudence that liberalism is capable of displaying. There have been studies of both liberalism and realism, but no other work has put them into conversation with each other in the way that this book does.
After the Enlightenment is the first attempt at understanding modern political realism as a historical phenomenon. Realism is not an eternal wisdom inherited from Thucydides, Machiavelli or Hobbes, but a twentieth-century phenomenon rooted in the interwar years, the collapse of the Weimar Republic, and the transfer of ideas between Continental Europe and the United States. The book provides the first intellectual history of the rise of realism in America, as it informed policy and academic circles after 1945. It breaks through the narrow confines of the discipline of international relations and resituates realism within the crisis of American liberalism. Realism provided a new framework for foreign policy thinking and transformed the nature of American democracy. This book sheds light on the emergence of 'rational choice' as a new paradigm for political decision-making and speaks to the current revival in realism in international affairs.
A free eBook that asks hard questions about why politics once worked, and how today’s politics do not. What if idealistic reform itself is a culprit? In Political Realism, Jonathan Rauch argues that well-meaning efforts to stem corruption and increase participation have stripped political leaders and organizations of the tools they need to forge compromises and make them stick. Fortunately, he argues, much of the damage can be undone by rediscovering political realism. Instead of trying to drive private money away out of politics, how about channeling it to strengthen parties and leaders? Instead of doubling down on direct democracy, how about giving political professionals more influence over candidate nominations? Rauch shows how a new generation of realist thinkers is using timetested truths about politics and government to build reforms for our time. Rich with contrarian insights and fresh thinking, Political Realism is an eye-opening challenge to today’s conventional wisdom about what ails American government and politics.
Realist Thought and the Nation-State by Konstantinos Kostagiannis Pdf
This book recovers the history of realist theorization on nationalism and the nation-state. Presented in a sequence of snapshots and illustrated by examples drawn from the foreign policy of great powers, this history is represented by four key realist thinkers. It uses the centrality of power in realism as a starting point to claim, contrary to conventional wisdom about realism, that for realists the state is better understood not as a political unit outside history but rather as a manifestation of power unfixed in time. It also claims that the process of gradual impoverishment of the concept of power from classical to structural realism had profound implications for realism, as what the latter gained in parsimony it lost in analytical purchase. As a result, elaborate understandings of nationalism and its relation to the state are replaced by one-dimensional approaches. In order to offer meaningful engagement with foreign policy, neorealists often have to resort to the recovery of some of the complexity of classical realist accounts.
Realism, Idealism and International Politics by Martin Griffiths Pdf
International relations is a discipline dominated by the debate between the realist and idealist paradigms. This book provides the most comprehensive critical review of the realist tradition to date. It looks closely at the terms 'realism' and 'idealism' and in doing so uncovers a broad range of interesting questions. Why, for example, do political realists see anarchy as being incompatible with international society? Why is idealism associated with unfounded hopes about the future? What about the past and the present? Realism explains inter-state behaviour in terms of the fundamental difference between 'domestic' and 'international' forms of government. The realist paradigm, as conventionally understood, conjures up the grim view that beyond the borders of sovereign presence, politics is not about potential moral progress, but survival. This book argues, contrary to conventional wisdom, that political realism is not a meaningless term. Martin Griffiths attempts to re-evaluate the terms 'realism' and 'idealism' through a detailed critical examination of the 'grand theorists' traditionally associated with realism, Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz. He concludes that they could more properly be categorized as idealists. Morgenthau's work, he argues, suffers from the shortcomings of 'nostalgic idealism' and Waltz's from those of 'complacent idealism'. In contrast, Hedley Bull's analysis of international society is based on a more realistic understanding of world politics. Martin Griffiths' book provides a compelling basis for conceiving international politics as a 'rule-governed' arena among states. It will be read with interest by scholars and advanced students of international relations.
Desire and Imitation in International Politics by Jodok Troy Pdf
"The book studies conflict based on the imitation of others' desire in international politics. It also looks at studies of agency and structure, normative change, peace, and reconciliation"--
Political Realism in American Thought by John W. Coffey Pdf
Combines a historical and philosophical perspective to examine in detail the concept of political realism as it is developed by Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, diplomat historian George Kennan, and political theorist Hans Morgenthau, presenting suggestions for lines along which sound political principles may lie.
Political realism, as a coherent tradition of explaining political behaviour, has focused on an understanding of politics as a permanent struggle for power and security. The essays here examine realism as it affects international relations.
Elites, Non-Elites, and Political Realism by John Higley Pdf
This provocative and groundbreaking book challenges accepted wisdom about the role of elites in both maintaining and undermining democracy in an increasingly authoritarian world. John Higley traces patterns of elite political behavior and the political orientations of non-elite populations throughout modern history to show what is and is not possible in contemporary politics. He situates these patterns and orientations in a range of regimes, showing how they have played out in revolutions, populist nationalism, Arab Spring failures to democratize, the conflation of ultimate and instrumental values in today’s liberal democracies, and American political thinkers’ misguided assumption that non-elites are the principal determinants of politics. Critiquing the optimistic outlooks prevalent among educated Westerners, Higley considers them out of touch with reality because of spreading employment insecurity, demoralization, and millennial pursuits in their societies. Attacks by domestic and foreign terrorists, effects of climate change, mass migrations from countries outside the West, and disease pandemics exacerbate insecurity and further highlight the flaws in the belief that democracy can thrive and spread worldwide. Higley concludes that these threats to the well-being of Western societies are here to stay. They leave elites with no realistic alternative to a holding operation until at least mid-century that husbands the power and political practices of Western societies. Drawing on decades of research, Higley’s analysis is historically and comparatively informed, bold, and in some places dark—and will be sure to foster debate.
America today faces a world more complicated than ever before, but our politicians have failed to envision a foreign policy that addresses our greatest threats. Ethical Realism shows how the United States can successfully combine genuine morality with tough and practical common sense. By outlining core principles and a set of concrete proposals for tackling the terrorist threat and contend with Iran, Russia, the Middle East, and China, Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman show us how to strengthen our security, pursue our national interests, and restore American leadership in the world.
Beyond the Formalist-Realist Divide by Brian Z. Tamanaha Pdf
According to conventional wisdom in American legal culture, the 1870s to 1920s was the age of legal formalism, when judges believed that the law was autonomous and logically ordered, and that they mechanically deduced right answers in cases. In the 1920s and 1930s, the story continues, the legal realists discredited this view by demonstrating that the law is marked by gaps and contradictions, arguing that judges construct legal justifications to support desired outcomes. This often-repeated historical account is virtually taken for granted today, and continues to shape understandings about judging. In this groundbreaking book, esteemed legal theorist Brian Tamanaha thoroughly debunks the formalist-realist divide. Drawing from extensive research into the writings of judges and scholars, Tamanaha shows how, over the past century and a half, jurists have regularly expressed a balanced view of judging that acknowledges the limitations of law and of judges, yet recognizes that judges can and do render rule-bound decisions. He reveals how the story about the formalist age was an invention of politically motivated critics of the courts, and how it has led to significant misunderstandings about legal realism. Beyond the Formalist-Realist Divide traces how this false tale has distorted studies of judging by political scientists and debates among legal theorists. Recovering a balanced realism about judging, this book fundamentally rewrites legal history and offers a fresh perspective for theorists, judges, and practitioners of law.