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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.
3.02. This website, maintained by Mount Holyoke College, provides a short introduction to realist thought as well as several links to realist works.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
3.10. In this article published in Social Research in 1994, Robert Jervis discusses the merits of Hans J. Morgenthau’s theories.
Schelling and Strategic Realism
3.11. Here, Stanford University provides an excellent account of the basics of 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 Cambridge University Press.
3.13. In this interview conducted in 2007, Thomas Schelling talks about his different research interests and where he draws his inspiration from.
3.14. Click here for another interview with Thomas Schelling about his ’Interpretation of game theory and the checkerboard model’.
3.15. This site contains an archive on all sorts of diplomacy put together by Stephen Agar.
3.16. Various links to the world of diplomacy online, maintained by Stephen Agar.
3.17. Click here to read the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Optional Protocols.
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.
3.19. Click here for the full text of Kenneth Waltz’s paper “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Better” on nuclear deterrence in a bipolar world. The site is maintained by Mount Holyoke College.
Mearsheimer, Stability Theory and Hegemony
3.20. Click here to read one of John Mearsheimer’s most famous articles: “Back To The Future”.
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.
3.22. This article provides an excellent and contemporary discussion of the Rise of China by John Mearsheimer. The article was published in The Australian in 2005.
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.
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.
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.
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 spokesperson of Realpolitik.
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.
3.28. Another article by William Wohlforth where he revisits his own work on realism and the end of the Cold War. This article is provided by Darmouth University.
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 PhD Rochelle Layla Terman.
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.
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 the Goethe Universität.
3.32. Click here to read Ole Wæver’s article on ‘Waltz’s Theory of Theory’, published in International Relations.
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.
E-International Relations is one of the leading websites for students and scholars of international politics. The site publishes a daily range of articles; 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.
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, 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.
- Stratfor Vice President Rodger Baker and Military Analyst Paul Floyd discuss the constraints the United States faces in its goal of destroying the Islamic State.
- Stratfor analyzes Ukraine's "borderland" location and decentralized population centres as factors contributing to its primary geographic challenge.
- Stratfor's Chief Geopolitical Analyst Robert D. Kaplan and East Asia Analyst John Minnich discuss the Communist Party's struggle to reshape itself into an entity that can guide China through the challenges to come.