POLS1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Kenneth Waltz, Hans Morgenthau, E. H. Carr
18 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Emphasis that the causes of international level phenomena such as war lie at the international level (changes in the balance of power) Pessimism about the ability of humankind to solve the problem of war. Realism stresses that states are amoral actors that is, they do not take morality much into account in their decisions. They also belie that states should avoid taki(cid:374)g se(cid:272)u(cid:396)ity de(cid:272)isio(cid:374)s fo(cid:396) (cid:862)(cid:373)o(cid:396)al (cid:396)easo(cid:374)s(cid:863) (eg. humanitarian intervention) However, realists resent implications of immorality-point out the unintended (cid:272)o(cid:374)se(cid:395)ue(cid:374)(cid:272)es of (cid:862)(cid:373)o(cid:396)ally d(cid:396)i(cid:448)e(cid:374) de(cid:272)isio(cid:374)s i(cid:374) i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:374)atio(cid:374)al (cid:396)elatio(cid:374)s. Associated with eh carr and hans morgenthau. Stressed the importance of power in international relations and impotence of international institutions. However, lacked the parsimony of modern day realism sought explanations for international phenomena at the domestic and individual level too. Waltz was a us political scientist who sought to establish ir as a scientific discipline. Took many of the postulates of traditional realism and fashioned them into a parsimonious theory.
