Realism is a method to study and practice international politics. It is the oldest form of international relations in political history. It takes an approach where it emphasizes all world politics deals with the pursuit of power, and states fight for the control of this power. It makes the assumption that all states are only motivated by national interests, which mostly is applied and presented as moral concerns. Realists believe that power can be achieved through strength.
They believe that states should go after interests which are only possible to achieve. They also imply that states should not go after the interests of its opponent as that will merely cause a war. Thomas Hobbes, who lived between, 1588 and 1679, was known as Forefather of Realism, in his famous book, Leviathan, he says if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless both cannot enjoy, they become enemies andendeavor to destroy or subdue one other.
This is the basic idea around which Realism is based, that is, conflict is inevitable. Hans Morgenthau was also one of the great thinkers of realism, he lived between 1904 and 1980, he was convinced that politics is essentially a struggle for power, and in his most famous book, Politics Among Nations, he explains this conviction by saying, “… the struggle for power is universal in time and space and is an undeniable fact of experience …
Even though anthropologists have shown that certain primitive people seem to be free from desire for power, nobody has yet shown how their state of mind and the conditions under which they live can be recreated on a worldwide scale so as to eliminate the struggle for power from the international scene”. He also argued that if a state does not participate in a struggle, it would probably fall victim to the power of others. In short, he implied that states would have to participate to survive. Realists believe that political struggle between states and people is inevitable because people have a dark side.
Basically, they believe that once a state has preserved its political autonomy and its territorial integrity, the states national interests could take different forms, for example, obtaining more land, resources, expanding their political and economic systems into other areas. For realists however, the most important factor on which a state should base its national interests is power. This power can be in terms of economic, political, diplomatic or in terms of military capability.
However, this does not mean that realists are murderers or Hitlers (excuse the expression! as realists still always imply that the most important duty of a state is to take care of its citizens. According to this political theory there is no authority over the state. It emphasizes that states have to rely on their own resources to protect themselves and to secure their interests. Because the realists have a view to the world that is fairly pessimistic, they have an approach to world politics called realpolitik. An ideal of realpolitik is to secure your own countries interests first on the basis that other countries will not help you unless its in their own interests.
Another methodology realists use is called Balance of Power, this idea basically implies that diplomats of states should try to achieve and maintain a equilibrium of power in order to prevent any other country or a coalition of countries from dominating. They believe this can be done in many ways including, building up one owns strength, by creating allies, or by dividing ones opponents. A third method used to try and maintain stability and peace is by being powerful! Realists are paranoid and believe it is necessary to constantly be armed and trigger-ready because the world is dangerous.
