Chapter 3:
Powerful Ideas:
Liberalism and Realism
3-1: Identify the nature and use of theory and describe the
components of theory.
3-2: Explain the foundations of the realist approach in terms of its
conception of (a) the nature of the international system, (b)
its relevant actors, (c) important resources, and (d) central
dynamics.
3-4: Explain the foundations of the liberal approach in terms of
its conceptions of (a) the nature of the international system, (b)
its relevant actors, (c) important resources, and (d) central
dynamics.
3-5: Assess the uses and applications of each approach as
contending and complementary lenses for understanding
international relations
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 Thinking Theoretically
• Theory—an analytical tool essential for the
explanation of complex realities in order make sense
of the complex international system, international
actors, and interactions.
• Theory is an explanation of the way events and actions
fit together, while theorizing is essential to understand
why events occur in the way that they do.
• Theories provide a set of analytical tools for
understanding the cause-and-effect relationship
between phenomena.
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 Thinking Theoretically
• Theory is an explanation for connecting events, actions,
behaviors, and outcomes. It explains how events and
actions fit together.
• It is a set of analytical tools for understanding the causeand-effect relationships between phenomena.
Cause and Effect
Sometimes a causal
chain is simple, and
other times it is very
complex.
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 The Analytical Uses of Theory
• In international politics, analysts use theory to
explain the choices of policymakers and the
consequences of policies they enact.
• Theories help us to simplify complex issues by
enabling us to bring important issues into
focus.
• The use of theory helps us to identify which
information is important and which information
is unnecessary for our explanations.
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 The Analytical Uses of Theory
To explain the choices of policymakers and
the consequences of policies they enact
• Empirical theory seeks to identify causeand-effect explanations of observable
phenomena and allows us to test those
explanations against events.
• Normative theory advocates how the world
should be as opposed to identifying causal
relationships.
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 Theory and Causation: The Components of Theory
• Causal explanations are often difficult to establish,
because of the complexity of the issues involved, and
because it is difficult, if not impossible, to create
experiments to test those explanations.
• In order to say one factor causes another, three things
must be true.
 The cause and effect must change together.
 The cause must come before the effect.
 Other potential causes must be accounted for or
controlled in order to avoid spurious connections.
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 Theory and Causation: The Components of Theory
• Three fundamental requirements
 A and B must change together, or you cannot claim
that one causes change in another (covariance)
 A must come before B in time because causes must
come before effects or they cannot be causes
 Other plausible or likely causes of B (say, C, D, E,
and F) must be eliminated or accounted for as best
as possible in order to isolate the true impact of A
on B (nonspuriousness)
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 Theory and Causation: The Components of Theory
• Any theory must include a set of concepts, the
inter-relationships between those concepts, and
the reasons for those relationships.
• Theories lead to hypotheses, or statements
about relationships and outcomes that should
be observable.
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 Theory and Causation: The Components of Theory
• Theory can thus be understood to contain three
elements:
• Description - The identification of the most
important factors in any given set of events.
• Explanation - The explanation of how those factors
are related to one another as well as why one factor
causes another.
• Prediction - How the presence of certain factors
may lead to certain outcomes in the future.
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 Theory and Causation: The Components of Theory
• A Basis for Prescription - How we can manipulate the
presence of certain factors in order to achieve desired (or more
desired) outcomes in the future.
• Theory may also help us to prescribe certain behaviors to
achieve desired outcomes. If we know that the presence of
certain factors leads to certain outcomes, we may be able to
alter the presence of those factors to achieve different
outcomes.
• In order to test theoretical explanations against empirical
reality and gauge their accuracy and utility, scholars of
international relations embrace the principle of parsimony—
that simpler explanations are preferred over more complex
ones.
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 Realism
• Realism takes a fundamentally pessimistic view of human
nature and state behavior. Under realism, conflict is considered
to be the norm rather than the exception.
• The oldest theory of international relations.
• Purports both to explain how the world works and to
provide policy guidance.
• Since World War II, realism has been the predominant
approach to international relations around the world.
• Thomas Hobbes – argues that the state of nature is
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” People (or states)
only cooperate out of fear.
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 Realism
• Thomas Hobbes – early developer of the Social contract,
where political arrangements are made among rational, free
and equal people.
• He also advocates rule by an absolute sovereign.
• Had a pessimistic view of humanity believing that mankind
is in a constant state of conflict or chaos which he
identified with a "state of nature“ or a pre-government state
in which individuals' actions are bound only by those
individuals' desires and restraints.
• The state of nature can be averted only by a strong central
government, one with the power to protect the people from
their own selfishness.
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 Realism and the Nature of the International System
• The Realists believe the international system is marked
by anarchy, the absence of a central government. acts
as both an explanation and a guide or prescription for
policy
• In the absence of central government, states rely on
self-help to preserve their security.
• Power is both an instrument to achieve security as well
as an objective to achieve. States are sovereign entities
with authority within their own borders.
• They are not obligated to follow international norms or
rules unless forced to do so by more powerful states.
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 Realism and the Nature of the International System
• States possess different levels of resources and power,
meaning that power is stratified. Stratification is
important as more powerful states behave differently
than states with less power and as realists argue that
states seek power to move up the hierarchy.
• Anarchy and self-help lead to security dilemmas, the
idea that the pursuit of increased security by one state
may pose a threat to other states.
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 Realism and the Relevant Actors of International Relations
• Realists consider the most important international actors
to be States.
• Acknowledgement that international organizations are
creations and tools of states, and not truly independent
actors.
• States are fundamentally self-interested actors seeking
their own security.
• States may cooperate, but only when such cooperation
works in their interests, i.e., work together to counter an
enemy on a temporary basis.
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 Realism and the Relevant Actors of International Relations
• Realists also often treat the state as a unitary actor,
disregarding internal elements such as government
processes, political parties, or regime types, in their
explanations.
• As rational actors, states weigh the cost and benefits of
their actions.
• While all states act for similar reasons, differing levels
of power account for differences in state behavior.
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 Realism and the Important Resources of International Relations
• The primary resource for realists is power.
• Power may be thought of as the ability to get what
you want.
• Realists identify three key features of power:
1. Power is relative and relational
2. Power is hierarchical
3. Power is fungible
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 Realism and the Important Resources of International Relations
• Realists identify three key features of power:
1. Power is relative and relational-the power of one state
makes sense only when compared to the power of
another state.
 This attribute means that states are more concerned with
relative gains, gains in power resources compared to
other states, than absolute gains, or increases in power
resources irrespective of what other states gain.
 States are always looking to gain more relative to its
rival.
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 Realism and the Important Resources of International Relations
• Realists identify three key features of power:
2. Power is hierarchical - where military power is the
most essential type of power.
 Though many resources are necessary for a state
to be powerful, these resources are important
primarily to the extent that they help a state
develop and deploy military power.
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 Realism and the Important Resources of International Relations
• Realists identify three key features of power:
3. Power is fungible –can be used anytime and for
anything.
 Powerful states, especially those with military
power, can use their power to influence outcomes
across issue areas through the use of foreign
policy instruments including diplomacy, economic
tools, and military tools, with military tools being
the most important.
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Chinese Military Parade, October 2009
Why do countries put their militaries on parade and celebrate their
military strength?
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 Realism and the Central Dynamics of International Relations
• In a world dominated by self-help and security
dilemmas where states seek power, conflict is the
norm and states can never really trust one another.
• States vie for power and influence, with powerful
states asserting themselves whereas weak states cope
with the consequences.
• The world is zero-sum; gains by one state are
necessarily losses by another state.
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 Realism and the Central Dynamics of International Relations
• The distribution of power between states shapes the
patterns of world politics, with the number of major
power in the system influencing events.
• The international system may be unipolar (one
power), bipolar (two powers), or multipolar (more
than two). For example, unipolar systems are less war
prone than other types of systems.
• Realists tend to focus on the balance of power
between states; as states are constantly seeking
security and power to counter threats, balances tend to
emerge.
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 Liberalism
• The term, liberal in international relations theory is not
used in the same way as liberal in domestic politics.
• Liberalism is more optimistic regarding human nature than
is realism.
• liberals view of the state of nature as an uncertain world
where conflict is possible, but in which reason and
reciprocity lead mostly to harmonious relationships. The
Locke’s view.
• Mutual interests among states can lead to cooperation in
overcoming fear and suspicion.
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 Liberalism
• Many liberals point out that realism is a poor
explanation for state behavior at least in part because
war is a relatively rare occurrence, whereas cooperation
is more common than realism suggests.
• Early liberals focused on providing prescriptions to
achieve peace, whereas more recent liberal scholars
focus on providing explanations for cooperation and
conflict.
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 Liberalism and the Nature of the International System
• Liberalism is often less parsimonious than realism as
it considers more factors in world politics than
realism.
• Liberals agree with realists that the world is basically
anarchic, but in contrast to realists, point out that
several other features are important to the
international system:
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 Liberalism and the Nature of the International System
1. They argue that international norms and mutual interests
mitigate the effects of anarchy by creating opportunities for
cooperation. These norms also create expectations for state
behavior; when states violate these expectations, other states
react negatively toward them.
2. Interdependence means that states are linked economically,
politically, and culturally; in a manner, that means that no state
is truly self-sufficient. Liberals argue that interdependence
reduces conflict and increases collaboration.
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 Liberalism and the Nature of the International System
3. Institutions also help to reduce anarchy. While liberals
believe that international institutions may be constrained,
they help to mitigate the effects of anarchy by providing
arenas for cooperation and dialogue. Liberals see some
institutions as more powerful than others, but would not
argue that institutions are as powerful as state
governments.
4. All of these factors help to mitigate anarchy and reduce
security dilemmas.
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 Liberalism and the Relevant Actors of International Relations
• Liberals also disagree with realists over which actors
are important in international politics.
• Liberals relax the assumption that states are unitary
actors, focusing on individuals, governmental
institutions and agencies, and societal forces in
shaping state behavior.
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 Liberalism and the Relevant Actors of International Relations
• Liberals also relax the assumption that states are the
only player of importance in the international arena;
they also examine international governmental
organizations (IOs) and nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), as well as
multinational/transnational corporations
(MNCs/TNCs) and transnational advocacy networks
(TANs).
• Liberals argue that these organizations influence state
behavior and alter international outcomes in a way that
suggest they are not secondary or derivative as realists
argue.
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 Liberalism and the Important Resources of
International Relations
• Liberals also agree with realists that power matters,
but they have a more complex view on the nature of
power and influence.
• First, liberals argue that power is multidimensional;
emphasizing the military power may not be
necessary to wield influence.
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 Liberalism and the Important Resources of International
Relations
• Factors such as economic, natural, and human resources
along with powerful ideas may contribute to a state’s
overall power separate from their ability to increase a
state’s military power. In explaining this view of power
we must distinguishes between hard power and soft
power.
1. Hard power emphasizes the ability to use coercive
means (military force) to achieve objectives.
2. Soft power focuses on the ability to get what you want
through means other than coercion by depending more
on ideas and cooperative relations.
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 Liberalism and the Important Resources of International
Relations
• Liberals also argue that power is context dependent.
Different power resources may be applicable in
different situations; for example, a powerful military
may not help a state in all situations (such as a trade
dispute).
• Liberals, unlike realists, do not consider all power to
be fungible.
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 Liberalism and the Central Dynamics of International Relations
• For liberals, then, while the world is formally anarchic, states
are able to identify common interests and goals that allow
them to cooperate and create institutions in a variety of
settings.
• Conflict is possible, but is not the norm.
• States are important, but so are sub-state factors, such as the
nature and type of government institutions, individual decision
makers, institutions and groups within states, and international
non-state actors such as IOs, NGOs, MNCs, and TANs.
• Liberals also see world politics as constantly changing and
progressing rather than repeating cycles of conflict over time.
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 Liberalism and the Central Dynamics of International Relations
• When conflict does occur, it is often the result of
misunderstanding, miscommunication, cultural
differences, or other such causes.
• Liberal theorists tend to see the world as positive
sum rather than zero sum. In other words, they
believe all actors can gain rather than all situations
involving a winner and a loser; in their view states are
often concerned with absolute gains rather than
relative gains.
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 Realism and liberalism have each appeared
prominent in different historical eras. In the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, states
pursuing “balance of power” politics dominated
the system in a manner fairly consistent with
realist thought. They each appeared to provide
the best explanation for state behavior or to form
the basis for policy prescriptions.
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 The violence of World War I, however, led the victorious
states to pursue collective security through the League of
Nations in an attempt to mitigate anarchy. The idea was that
aggression by any one state would lead to a collective
response by all members of the League of Nations.
Unfortunately, the League of Nations failed to prevent the
series of conflicts and actions that would lead to World War
II.
 After World War II, realism reemerged as a dominant
explanation of state behavior epitomized by the Cold War.
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 At the same time, however, the United Nations also was
created at the end of World War II, as were many other
international institutions. Even during the height of the
Cold War, states created more and more international
organizations. As international trade and the number of
institutions have grown, liberalism as a theoretical
perspective has reemerged.
 While realism and liberalism have been the two dominant
perspectives in international relations theory, they are
only two possible explanations.
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1. absolute gains the total effect of a decision or situation on an actor.
2. anarchy the absence of central government in world politics.
3. bipolar a distribution of power in the international system in which there
are two great powers.
4. collective security an arrangement between states to cooperate by pooling
power and acting together to punish aggression by a party to the agreement.
5. democratic peace the historical absence of war among democraticgoverned countries.
6. distributions of power a characteristic of the international system
emphasized by realists based on the number of great or major powers in a
given period of time.
7. empirical theory theory based on real-world observations and
explanations.
8. empirical theory theory based on real-world observations and
explanations.
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9. hard power power based on coercive means such as military force.
10. hegemony domination of the international system by one country.
11. institutions structures, patterns, and mechanisms for establishing norms,
rules, order, and cooperation in world politics.
12. interdependence mutual connections and reliance between countries.
13. international norms unwritten rules or expectations of behavior.
14. liberalism a major theoretical approach to international relations
emphasizing the role of individuals, norms, and institutions to explain
pattern of cooperation and conflict in world politics.
15. multipolar a distribution of power in the international system in which
there are more than two great powers.
16. normative theory theory based on prescription and advocacy of preferred
outcomes.
17.parsimony the principle that simple explanations are preferable to
complex explanation when other things are equal.
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18. positive sum a condition in which all parties to an issue can benefit or
“win.”
19. power the ability to get what you want.
20. realism a major theoretical approach to international relations
emphasizing the competitive, conflict-ridden pursuit of power and security
among states in world politics.
21. relative gains the comparative effect of a decision or situation on an
actor relative to those of another actor.
22. security dilemmas how a state can improve its military security without
threatening others.
23. self-help acquiring security and protecting interests depends on the actor.
24. soft power power based on attraction and persuasion rather than
coercion.
25. sovereign having supreme authority over territory and people.
26. state of nature a hypothetical condition before the advent of government.
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27. stratification unequal distribution of power, influence, and/or other
resources.
28. theory tools for explaining cause-and-effect relationships among often
complex phenomena.
29. tripolar a distribution of power in the international system in which there
are three great powers.
30. unipolar a distribution of power in the international system in which
there is one great power.
31. unitary actor the simplified conception of a state as a single entity or
actor.
32. zero-sum a condition in which one party’s benefit or gains requires
comparable losses by another party.
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1. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute:
(http://www.sipri.org). This website contains information regarding global
military spending, arms transfers, and other information used to measure
power.
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