a blog about understanding power, politics, and policy.
Realism Theory
Realism, a theory in international relations, holds some fundamental assumptions crucial to understanding its concept.
Assumptions:
Because states are sovereign, no “world government” holds a higher authority.
No “world government” means anarchy exists in international relations.
For realists, anarchy is defined by fear, a lack of trust, and an emphasis on security and survival.
Due to these assumptions, the effects of anarchy are as follows:
States only have their self-interest in mind.
International law and international organizations do not matter. No one is above states so they choose what to do without consequence.
Military power is what matters the most.
Because states want what is best for them, military power provides security reassurance. All states are equal except in how much military power they have.
States are rational and use a cost-benefit analysis to strategize.
States carefully calculate strategies and are not emotional or impulsive. After all, they want their state to prosper so they must act with logic.
Security is the most important, but is scarce.
States are insecure of each other because anarchy makes peaceful international relations impossible. If one state decides to build their security, neighboring states will fear an invasion which leads to them building their security. No matter what states do, they end up being insecure. This term is called the Security Dilemma.
To summarize,
“The standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel and that in the fact that the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept”
