Realism and International Politics

From the ashes of World War One rose one of the prominent political theories in international relations. It began as a counter to the idealist theorists who were more concerned with focusing on understanding the reasons for war in an effort to find a solution for its being. Realism rests itself on three fundamental principles; statism, survival and self help. While these cornerstones create a very strong case for realism and one that I believe is a very viable theory, they also have holes in them that do no allow realism to be the dominant theory in international relations
“Statism is the term given to the idea of the state as the legitimate representative of the collective will of the people.” In a realists mind the state is the hub of the action. It has sovereignty within its border and therefore is able to create and enforce laws as it sees fit. This allows the state to establish security, which according to Thomas Hobbes satisfies our most basic fear of a violent death. Once ...