Realism Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is hegemony?
Political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others.
Define polarity in the context of international relations.
Any of the various ways in which power is distributed within the international system, such as unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar.
What is the security dilemma?
The increase in one actor’s security leads another actor to fear for their own security, prompting them to increase their own security.
Who wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War?
Thucydides.
What does Thucydides imply about the growth of Athenian power?
It made war inevitable due to the fear it caused in Sparta.
What moral perspective did Machiavelli present in The Prince?
Statesmen must have a different moral code than citizens, and the ends justify immoral means for the survival or glory of the state.
What is the main idea of Hobbes’ Leviathan?
It discusses the security dilemma in a state of anarchy.
List Morgenthau’s ‘Six Principles of Political Realism’.
- International politics is governed by objective laws rooted in human nature.
- National interest defined in terms of power.
- National interest is dynamic and changes over time.
- Abstract moral principles cannot apply to international politics.
- Difference between national moral aspirations and universal moral principles.
- Policy must emerge from political analysis of power.
What defines Classical Realism?
States are the key actors in the international system and are amoral.
What is a key tenet of Neorealism?
States act in self-interest due to the anarchic structure of the international system.
Fill in the blank: In Neorealism, power is defined in terms of _______.
[security].
Who is the most prominent name in neorealism?
Kenneth Waltz.
What does defensive neorealism advocate?
States maximize security by not posing a threat to other states.
What is John Mearsheimer’s criticism of Waltz’s view?
States maximize their security by being as powerful as possible, often going on the offensive.
What does Mearsheimer suggest about the West’s actions towards Russia in 2015?
It might lead Russia to invade Ukraine.
What is balancing in international relations?
States might ally together to balance the power of a hegemon.
Define bandwagoning.
States might ally with the global or regional hegemon.
What is buck-passing?
States refuse to confront a growing threat, hoping another state will.
What debate exists regarding the global system between 1945-1989?
Whether it was unipolar or bipolar.
According to neorealists, why is bipolarity considered stable?
It leads to balance-of-power, as seen during the Cold War.
Who argues that unipolarity is more stable?
Wohlforth.
What does Deutch argue about multipolarity?
It is the most stable system.
