CIAO DATE: 2/08
Journal of International Relations and Development
Volume 8, Issue 4 (December 2005) -- Special Issue: Contemporary realist theorising in International Studies
Articles
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'That dog won't hunt': the cottage industry of realist criticism, or must you play that Waltz again?
Michael P Sullivan
Debates over realism seem endless. The neoliberal tenor of the decade ending with September 2001 has given way to another popular revival of conventional realism, as if that paradigm were once again the only true reflection of world politics. This resurgence, however, is best considered within the context of longer-term debates over realism and its spin-off, neorealism: their accuracy, applicability, and — some would say — morality. This article asks how and why a paradigm that has been incessantly attacked has survived. It argues that, to answer these questions, one must look beyond issues of internal theoretical consistency to the historical context within which structural realism has unfolded. In addition, one must entertain the possibility that the incessant focus on internal theoretical debates downplays both the results of empirical research and the personal prejudices or worldviews that ultimately may underlie preferences for models. Much of the discussion revolves around Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics (TIP), a central focus of the debate, but also assesses implications from other studies thought to be extensions of neorealism and TIP. We conclude that progress in international relations (IR) and IR theory ultimately requires less energy being spent on the broad paradigmatic debates, and more effort being dedicated to evaluating what empirical investigations can contribute as well as recognizing what lies outside their domain.
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Explaining why state X made a certain move last Tuesday: the promise and limitations of realist foreign policy analysis
Anders Wivel
What are the main challenges facing realist foreign policy analysis today? Which strategies might realists follow in order to answer these challenges? This article argues that contemporary realism faces two fundamental challenges when attempting to explain foreign policy. The first challenge is to combine structural factors with other variables without ending up with a collection of ad hoc arguments. The second, and related, challenge is to combine the realist emphasis on the continued importance of materialist factors such as power with the observation that these factors are interpreted and perceived — not objectively measured — by human beings making foreign policy. The article explores the potential of contemporary realism in order to shed light on the nature of the challenges and discuss how they might be answered.
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John J. Mearsheimer: an offensive realist between geopolitics and power
Peter Toft
With a number of controversial publications behind him and not least his book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, John J. Mearsheimer has firmly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the realist tradition in the study of international relations since Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics. Mearsheimer's main innovation is his theory of 'offensive realism' that seeks to re-formulate Kenneth Waltz's structural realist theory to explain from a structural point of departure the sheer amount of international aggression, which may be hard to reconcile with Waltz's more defensive realism. In this article, I focus on whether Mearsheimer succeeds in this endeavour. I argue that, despite certain weaknesses, Mearsheimer's theoretical and empirical work represents an important addition to Waltz's theory. Mearsheimer's work is remarkably clear and consistent and provides compelling answers to why, tragically, aggressive state strategies are a rational answer to life in the international system. Furthermore, Mearsheimer makes important additions to structural alliance theory and offers new important insights into the role of power and geography in world politics.
Book Reviews
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Imperialism and Internationalism in the Discipline of International Relations
Henrik Ø Breitenbauch
State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 2005, 212pp.
ISBN: 0-7914-6323-0
David Long and Brian C. Schmidt (eds) -
Global Lies? Propaganda, the UN and World Order
Veronika Bílková
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2003, 288pp.
ISBN: 1-4039-2100-8
Mark D. Alleyne -
War and Genocide
Petra Maroša
Polity Press, Cambridge, 2003, 257pp.
ISBN: 07456 1907-X
Martin Shaw -
The New Diplomacy
Duška Jermana
Polity, Cambridge, 2003, 136pp.
ISBN: 0 7456 2790 0
Shaun Riordan -
Index to volume 8, 2005
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Acknowledgement of external reviewers