Paper Topic:

Why realism is considered as the dominant theory of international relations?

REALISM AS THE DOMINANT THEORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

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Institution

Introduction

Realism is one of the many theories of international relations . It is characterized by a number of assumptions . Firstly , it assumes that nation states are the main players in the international arena . Secondly the theory assumes the lack of a central authority to resolve disputes between and among sovereign countries thus leading to the development of what is termed the security dilemma . This refers to the situation whereby a nation 's attempt to build up its security leads to

other nations ' feeling insecure . This insecurity may trigger off an arms race as each nation attempts to out do the other in terms of military strength . Realists believe that the decisions of states are guided by rational thinking as they pursue their national self interests .These self interests concern political and economic power , security and territorial integrity . The states are also assumed to be unitary actors on the international scene . Because the national interests of nations are unduly concerned with power , realists accept conflict as one of the characteristics of this theory . It is for this reason that the realist theory has dominated political discourse as the major theory that correctly defines international relations

Realism looks to human nature and to explain the reason behind wars . By identifying the negative aspects of human nature it is able to identify why conflicts have broken out in various places and among different nations . The pursuit of power by the various leaders in direct competition with one another has contributed to disagreements that blew up into full scale conflicts . Further the desire to exercise power over other states is what leads nations to invade other states in a bid to take over their resources and control their populations . The Third Reich under Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to control the whole world . By attacking and occupying neighboring states , Germany was exercising its desire to extend its power and sphere of influence throughout Europe . The actions of the German state were made on its own as a unitary player in the international community . The collapse of the League of Nations meant that there was no force that could exercise constraint over the Germans to respect the sovereignty of other states Wit the end of the Second World War , the two most powerful nations on earth , the USSR and the USA engaged in an arms race that at times led to fears of a major conflict that could have involved nuclear weapons . Each of the nations wanted to secure a military advantage over the other and thus developed weapons of mass destruction as they pursued a military policy of deterrence . This policy espoused the annihilation of ones enemy if attacked . The possibility of restrained these nations from resorting war to settle their differences However this did not stop them from fighting proxy wars in various parts of the world . The Cuban missile crisis pitted the resolve of the USSR against the determination...

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