Answer to Question #234431 in Political Science for Zikhona

Question

Accorsing to the realist theory international relations is a self help system as the strong do what they please and weak do what they must. Make a case for and against this assumption

Answer 1

Realism is a paradigm that seeks to explain world politics in its entirety. It underlines the political restrictions imposed by humanity's egoistic character and the lack of a centralized authority above the state. However, I disagree with this assumption since realists' usage of terminology like 'power,' 'national interest,' and 'power dynamic' is lacking in specificity and contradictory. There are also possible inconsistencies between the central observational and normative elements of realism.