Structural Realism And Realism

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A foreign policy analysis based on the neo-realist framework differentiate itself from the traditional realist approach which emphasizes the ubiquity of power and the competitive nature of politics among nations. According to the majority of classical realists the state, which is identified as the major player in international politics, must pursue power in a continuously hostile and threatening environment. That leads to the conclusion in a realist’s assumption that the survival of the state can never be guaranteed, because the use of force culminating in war is a legitimate instrument of statecraft. For realists the main instrument that drives international politics is that great powers focusing their goals on assuring that they hold substantial…show more content…
The term statism refers to the idea that state functions as the legitimate representative of the will of people. This legitimacy enables the enforcement of law and the exercise of power in internal politics. But beyond these state boundaries according to the realists it exists a condition of anarchy in the international system. Anarchy as defined by Waltz, is the absence of a central, competent and legitimate authority that would safeguard sovereign states and protect them from aggressive behaviour of others. In the ideological framework of structural realism or neorealism, the acquisition of power derives from this anarchic structure of the international system which forces states to pursue power. In an anarchic system that no central authority sits above the great powers which could provide guarantee that there will be no aggressive action of one state against the other, it is the duty of each state to ensure its own…show more content…
In his definition Waltz, describes the structure as a system-wide component that creates connotations of the system as whole. The system therefore is composed by both the structure and of interacting units. Additionally, Waltz underlines that the definition of a structure does not come from the interaction between units but rather from their arrangement or positioning in relations to each other. Changes of the arrangements therefore consist structural changes and combination of different units produces different outcomes. Similarly this theory used to explain political system in a domestic and international order. Domestic politics are organised in a hierarchical order in which the units-institutions and agencies stand vis-à-vis each other. Political actors are differentiated according to their roles and responsibilities as well as the functions that they specific. For example the Congress supplies the army forces, the President commands them, the Congress makes laws, the governmental bodies enforces them, the Court and the judges interpret
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