The Realist Tradition

As the citations above show, realist perspectives span Hans Morgenthau’s strong emphasis on human nature and Kenneth Waltz’s focus on systemic structures explaining the behaviour of great powers. Despite the broad scope, realism is a well-established and very rich theoretical tradition that has produced some of the finest studies within the discipline. Theorizing within the realist tradition of thought is characterized by six main features. In the first place, realism is a tradition that essentially claims a monopoly on really understanding the realities of international politics. In this context, it is telling that the category of antonyms for realism includes notions such as idealism, utopianism, illusions, wishful thinking, symbolism and rhetoric. Second, realism is characterized by a strong sense of tragedy or, stated differently, a considerable degree of pessimism as regards the prospects of a more peaceful world. The tragedy is that we can know our fate without being able to do much about it. Hence, we are doomed to live with conflict and war. Third, most theorists within the tradition have an almost exclusive focus on ‘the political’ (as opposed to e.g. economics, culture or religion). In addition, they employ a distinct conception of politics, defined as the kind of social action through which all human beings and states seek to exercise or maximize power. Fourth, the tradition is characterized by a clear-cut distinction between domestic and international politics, and almost exclusive priority is given to the latter sphere of politics.