The+Tragedy+of+Great+Power+Politics

Namalie Jayasinghe SIS-701-001: IR Proseminar **REALISM**


 * John J. Mearsheimer, //The Tragedy of Great Power Politics//, __Chapter One__**

**__Premise__:** Just because the Cold War is over, we are still not living in an age of perpetual peace and friendliness. States still want to maximize their share of the world power and become the hegemon. The structure of the international system – anarchy – forces states to act aggressively and to fear one another. The tragedy of great power politics is that states that have no reason to fight each other do so nonetheless to retain or increase their power.

· Multipolar systems more war-prone than bipolar systems · Multipolar systems that contain especially powerful states – potential hegemons – are the most dangerous · Mainly a descriptive theory – explains how great powers have behaved in the past and how they are likely to behave in the future · Also a prescriptive theory – states should behave according to the dictates of offensive realism, because it outlines the best way to survive in a dangerous world · Reason can be employed to make the world a better place – tend to be more hopeful about things · __Three core beliefs:__ o Liberals consider states to be the main actors in international politics o States’ internal characteristics vary and have profound effect on states o Calculations about power do not matter in explaining good state behavior – political and economic calculations matter more · Economic interdependence among states make them unlikely to fight each other · Democratic peace – democracies do not go to war against other democracies · International institutions – enhance prospects of cooperation among states and thus significantly reduce the likelihood of war
 * Offensive Realism**
 * Liberalism**

· Realists are pessimists, no way to escape the harsh world we live in  · __Three core beliefs:__ o States are the principal actors – focus mainly on great actors o Behavior of great powers influenced by external environment, not by internal characteristics § Don’t really draw the lines between good and bad states because all great powers act according to the same logic regardless of their culture political system o Realists hold that calculations about power dominate states’ thinking, and that states compete for power among themselves o War – an acceptable instrument of statecraft · Morgenthau – **human nature realism** – //Politics among Nations// o States are led by human beings who have a will to power hardwired into them at birth – limitless lust for power o No discrimination between states as they all want power and will dominate when they can · Waltz – **defensive realism** – //Theory of International Politics// – ANARCHY o Structural realism o Doesn’t assume that states are inherently aggressive o Assumes that states just want to survive – seek security o Great powers have to pay attention to the balance of power – can’t act too aggressive as weaker states can band together against the common foe o Anarchy forces security-seeking states to compete with each other for power – maintain the balance of power – status quo bias o Wars result of uncertainty and miscalculation – if states knew better, they would not start wars
 * Realism**