POLI 2057 Chapter : Poli Writeup 2
Document Summary
The theories of realism and liberalism have shaped international society significantly, but these are only a few of the various international theories. Neo-realism and neo-liberalism are two theories that became staples of international theory in the 1980"s. Neo-realism tends to focus on issues of national security while neo-liberalism is concerned with the global economy, diplomacy and international cooperation. The concept of neo-realism usually refers to the theory presented by. Kenneth waltz in his work theory of international politics in 1979. Waltz expressed that state behavior is most heavily influenced by the anarchic international system. From neo-realism came the subtheories of defensive and offensive realism to describe a state"s security status. Offensive realism is more or less in line with traditional realism in that it agrees that national self-interest is the most important determinant of international relations. John mearsheimer was an offensive realist that argued that nations place greater importance on relative power than absolute power.
