Chapter 3 Web links

Chapter 3 Web links

Realism

3.01. In this excerpt chapter from the book Realism and International Relations (Cambridge University Press, 2000), Jack Donnelly discusses different definitions of realism and provides a typology and overview of the different schools within realist theory.
http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/92291/sample/9780521592291wsc00.pdf

3.02. This website, maintained by Mount Holyoke College, provides a short introduction to realist thought as well as several links to realist works.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pol116/realism.htm

3.03. In this paper, published in International Organization in 1997, Stephen G. Brooks delineates two schools within realist theory: Kenneth Waltz’ neorealism and a second branch he names ‘postclassical realism’.
http://www.rochelleterman.com/ir/sites/default/files/brooks%201997.pdf

 

Classical Realism

3.04. Click here to read the full text of Thucydides’ realist classical “The History of the Peloponnesian War”. The text is provided by the Internet Classics Archive.
http://classics.mit.edu/Thucydides/pelopwar.html

3.05. Click here for a comprehensive site on Ancient Greece, maintained by University Press Inc.. The site provides, among other things, information about history, politics and culture.
http://www.ancientgreece.com

3.06. Another classical realist work is The Prince written by Niccoló Machiavelli. Click here to read the full text of the work, provided by Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1232

3.07. Here you can read the full text of yet another realist classical: The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. The text is provided by Project Gutenberg.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm

 

Morgenthau and Classical Realism

3.08. Click here to read an extract from Hans J. Morgenthau’s Politics among Nations. The extract is provided by History News Network.
http://hnn.us/articles/1301.html

3.09. Another extract from Hans J. Morgenthau’s Politics among Nations can be found at Mount Holyoke College’s website. The extract explains the six principles of political realism.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/morg6.htm

3.10. In this article published in Social Research in 1994, Robert Jervis discusses the merits of Hans J. Morgenthau’s theories.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40971063?uid=3737512&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104678591643  

 

Schelling and Strategic Realism

3.11. Here, Stanford University provides an excellent account of the basics of game theory.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-theory/

3.12. Click here for a thorough introduction to political game theory by Nolan McCarty and Adam Meirowitz. The text is provided by Semantic Scholar.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/47c9/f238cc8057c5c52876c80def6c9267f183ed.pdf

3.13. In this interview conducted in 2007, Thomas Schelling talks about his different research interests and where he draws his inspiration from.
http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/jpcarv/files/2011/03/schelling.pdf

3.14 Click here for another interview with Thomas Schelling about his ’Interpretation of game theory and the checkerboard model’.
http://www.accessecon.com/pubs/eb/2005/volume2/EB-05B20001A.pdf

3.15. This site contains an archive on all sorts of diplomacy put together by Stephen Agar.
http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/

3.16. Various links to the world of diplomacy on the Internet, maintained by Stephen Agar.
http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/resources/links.htm

3.17. Click here to read the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Optional Protocols. 
http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf

 

Waltz and Neorealism

3.18 A full text article by Kenneth Waltz about the relevance of ‘Structural Realism after the Cold War’, published in 2000 in International Security.
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/U6800/readings-sm/Waltz_Structural%20Realism.pdf

3.19. Click here for the full text of Kenneth Waltz’ paper “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Better” on nuclear deterrence in a bipolar world. The site is maintained by Mount Holyoke College.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/waltz1.htm

 

Mearsheimer, Stability Theory and Hegemony

3.20. Click here to read one of John Mearsheimer’s most famous articles: “Back To The Future”. http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0017.pdf

3.21. In their paper “Back to Bipolarity” Hans Binnendijk & Alan Henrikson discuss the prospects for evolution of the international system in the post-Cold War era.
www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA394259  

3.22. This summary provides an excellent and contemporary discussion of the Rise of China by John Mearsheimer. The summary is provided by Chicago University.
http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0034b.pdf

3.23. In this essay Francis Sempa argues that “the twenty-first century marks a tectonic shift from four centuries of European-centered geopolitics to a new age of Asian-centered geopolitics.” The commentary is provided by americandiplomacy.org.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2007/1012/semp/sempa_asiangeopol.html

 

Neoclassical Realism

3.24. In this article, Gideon Rose sets up a new perspective on realism, a school that Rose terms neoclassical realism. The article is provided by Graduate Institute in Geneva.
http://disciplinas.stoa.usp.br/pluginfile.php/326196/mod_resource/content/1/Rose_Neoclassical%20realism%20and%20theories%20of%20foreign%20policy.pdf

 

3.25. Another article that gives an introduction to neoclassical realism. The article is written by Jeffrey Taliaferro, Steven Lobell and Norrin M. Ripsman. The article is provided by Cambridge University.
http://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/31928/excerpt/9780521731928_excerpt.pdf

 

Rethinking the Balance of Power

3.26. This homepage introduces Henry Kissinger. A political scientist and former secretary of state during the presidency of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He is spokesman of Realpolitik.
http://www.henryakissinger.com/

3.27. In this massive article by, among others William Wohlforth and Richard Little, the Balance Of Power-theory is tested on eight case studies on balancing and balancing failure in international systems. 
http://ejt.sagepub.com/content/13/2/155.full.pdf+html  

3.28. Another article by WilliamWohlforth where he revisits his own work on realism and the end of the Cold War. This article is provided by Dartmouth University.
http://sites.dartmouth.edu/wwohlforth/files/2013/04/ip_48_4-5_1r_Wohlforth.pdf

 

Two critiques of Realism

3.29. In this article, Barry Buzan, is trying to fusion International Society theory and Structural Realism and Regime Theory. This article is accessible through the website of Ph.D Rochelle Layla Terman.
http://www.rochelleterman.com/ir/sites/default/files/buzan%201993.pdf

3.30. In their book “International Relations Theory and the End of the Cold War”, Richard Ned Leboe and Thomas Risse-Kappen argue that realism cannot explain the end of the Cold War. The book is accessible through Library of Lights.
https://libraryoflights.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/international-relations-theory-and-the-end-of-the-cold-war.pdf

3.31. Click here to read the introduction to the book ’The Culture of National Security: Norms an Identity in World Politics’, edited by Peter J. Katzenstein, where prominent constructivist scholars criticize the conventional studies of contemporary national security studies. The except is provided by Goethe Universität. 
http://www.fb03.uni-frankfurt.de/45503391/Introduction-from-Katzenstein-1996---The-Culture-of-National-Security.pdf    

3.32. Click here to read Ole Wæver’s article on ‘Waltz’s Theory of Theory’, published in International Relations.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0047117809104635?casa_token=vJqysqrE3LMAAAAA:fC1F0BdXMGjjjj59UdvUvsA41_oB_TPxxhTET7fCPqHFbvDrgt5PwrPQALn9DwALAc4jZltDwfCMwaQ

 

Links to current affairs

The magazine Foreign Policy has an online platform where several well-known IR scholars blog. See for example Stephen M. Walt’s blog for a neorealist take on currents events.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/

E-International Relations is one of the leading website for students and scholars of international politics. The site publishes a daily range of articles, blogs, student essays, and features, including book reviews and interviews. See for example the blog “Geopolitics and Security” which offers a distinctive perspective on geopolitical and security research and analysis. 
http://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/16/gps-geopolitics-and-security-critical-perspectives-from-royal-holloway/

The geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor has a YouTube station where they upload analyses and discussions of current events – as seen through a realist geopolitical lens. You can also check out their webpage (www.stratfor.com) but membership is required to access some of the articles.

  • Stratfor CEO George Friedman and Chief Geopolitical Analyst Robert D. Kaplan discuss how the unity of the Syrian military and the removal of President Bashar al Assad will affect the country's future.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tSzFtJX81Q

Assignments

  • Check the links to content on NATO’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan. Look for various texts and statements that indicate the goals and concerns that NATO has expressed in regards to that war. Organize the texts you find into categories of classical realism, strategic realism, and neorealism. Try to determine which realist approach makes the most sense.
  • Check the links to content on United States foreign policy and defence policy, and look for various texts and statements that indicate the goals and concerns of the United States government regarding the 'war on terror'. Organize the texts you find into categories of the various realist approaches. How well do they each account for the way in which the United States is waging its 'war on terrorism'?

 

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