Compare and Assess the Three Alternative Theoretical Approaches to International Relations (Realism, Institutionalism, State-Society Approaches) in Terms of Their Ability to Explain Outcomes in the Issue-Area of War.
The topic of war and peace has become an increasingly important area concerning international relations over the past decade. Wars varying from Russia’s invasion of Georgia, to the United States involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan placed war on top of international politics agenda. These wars, along with all other wars, are started for various reasons, which different international relations theories try to identify. Theories such as realism or institutionalism may have severely different views on identical cases, and while all theories usually have some degree of merit, opposing theories will find discrepancies in the views of one another’s theories. In international relations, it is important to comprehend the complexities of each theory, because while no theory is universally accepted, everyone usually subscribes to one of the main theories. This essay aims to dissect and analysis the contrasting beliefs of three of the main international relation theories; realism, institutionalism, and state-society approach, and identify key differences between these theories in the context of war and peace. A realist would argue that a state makes war because the state believes it is in its national interest to do so. To understand the realist approach to war and peace, some common assumptions made by all realists must be understood. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, there is no international body that governs the state. The international stage is anarchic, with no presiding body over states. In addition, every state is wary of long-term treaties and agreements. Hobbes argued that international politics exist in a, “state of nature,” where no body governs the behavior of states. Each state is a sovereign entity that cares firstly and fore mostly about self-survival. After all, the citizens of each state only subscribe to the laws of their state to protect themselves for the actions of others, both domestic and foreign. Secondly, greater attention is given to more
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