POL114H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Kenneth Waltz, Immanuel Kant, Kingdom Of Prussia
Document Summary
Realists see the world as a collection of sovereign states in constant competition for power and security, raison d"etat. Anarchy, economic interdependence will not lead to peace. Analogy to thomas hobbes state of nature in which life is nasty brutish and short. 0 sum game any gain in security/power of one player is a loss to others. People are generally viewed as self-interested creatures, and political power merely corrupts them further. **structural realists: emphasize the anarchic nature of the system as a determinant of state behavior (kenneth waltz) No central authority exists to enforce and ensure state compliance with international rules or norms. Global politics is a multiple sum game (cooperation > win/win>peace) Just as marx viewed capitalist societies as based on an exploitative class system (capitalism) modern marxists see the world as defined by an exploitative system of core states which dominate the dependent states of the periphery.