Monday, April 20, 2015

Realist Concept of "Power" : A critical Review



Introduction



Realism is a main paradigm of the international relations. The concept of “Power” plays a key role in this paradigm.  Realists are always considered as the theorists of power politics as their analysis of international politics based on the role of power.  In realism, both power and politics are strongly linked. While some realists use this concept to analyze every phenomenon of international politics, others define power as a means to an end.



Therefore, even though power plays a key role as a concept in the field of international relations, one of the major difficulties is the reaching a common agreement in conceptualizing power. Therefore, the conceptualization of power by each realist has a significant variation



Hans Morgenthau says all politics is a “struggle for power” and all the realists also portray international politics in term of continuous struggle for power with various assumptions.



For Some realists, the definition of power is based on the measurable elements, while others define power in a manner in which influence over the actors in the international system. 



This essay explains these variations of competing realist theories on power as a concept. This will be supported by the various arguments produced by individual realists in defining, locating, measuring and prioritizing power in International arena.



The conflict or the variation of the conceptualization also based on the different versions of realism namely, classical, structural and neoclassical realisms.

  

Realism



Many theorists note that realism is a general orientation: “a philosophical disposition” ( Giplin 1986, 304), “a set of normative emphases which shape theory” ( Ferguson and Mansbach 1988: 79), an “attitude of mind” with “a quite distinctive and recognizable flavor”  (Garnett, 1984 :110)[1].



Realists assume that the real issues of international politics can be understood by the rational analysis of competing interests defined in terms of power ( Smith 1986 :  219 – 221)[2]



Realists made concept of power as central discipline in International relations, however their understanding of this key concept remains challenged, since there are significant disagreements among the realists when conceptualizing.



The concept of power is closely studied in the realism and for realists the concept of power is essential focus to understand the activities of international politics. As there are three versions of realism, this study determines how each version of realism comprehends this concept.



-         Classical Realism

-         Structural Realism

-         Modified Realism





For classical realists like Hans Morgenthau, everyone is born with a will to power, which effectively means that great powers are led by individuals who are bent on having their state dominate its rivals.



For structural realists, human nature has little to do with why states want power. They believe, it is the structure or architecture of the international system that forces states to pursue power.



Modified realists locate the power around individual, domestic structure and international anarchy.



For realists, the international politics is synonymous with power politics. And even though there are substantial differences among individual realists, it is important to investigate how each realist groups answered two basic questions;



Why do states need Power? And how much power is needed?



Realists argue about why do states need power in opposing manners. While classical realists emphasize on “human nature”, structural realists locates on “anarchic international system”



While agreeing with the structural realists on that international anarchy is a predominant factor contributing to the seeking of power and security, they also argue that anarchy is a permissive condition rather than an independent casual force.



Morgenthau’s explanation is mainly based on human nature. This is clearly pointed out in the first principle of political realism “politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature”.[3]  According to Morgenthau, it is the political mans’ urge to dominate each other results the struggle for power at the international level.




For structural realists, it is the structure of the international system which forces the states to seek for power.  They believe that in a system where there is no higher authority and no guarantee that one will not attack, it makes each states to be powerful enough to protect each other.


Kenneth Waltz supported that it is unwise for states to maximize their power, and if the states attempt to gain too much of power, the system would punish them.



John Mearsheimer maintains a contrary view and argues that it is a strategy for states to gain as much power as possible. They asserted that the best way to ensure their survival is through the overpowering.



Let’s now move on how each realist models conceptualize the central element of power in the international system.





 Classical realists on Power



Classical realists emphasize “power” as a fixed human nature. According to the classical realists, the power politics is signified as a law of human behaviors and human nature elucidates that the international politics is a power politics. Morgenthau argues that social forces are the product of human nature in action.



This chapter describes how did “Power” was conceptualized by some well-known classical realists such as Hans Morgenthau, Machiavelli, E.H. Carr and Thucydides.



Even though the concept of power remains significant, the definition of the concept is still remains unclear and insufficient.



Morgenthau asserted that “Power may comprise anything that establishes and maintains the power of man over man …. from physical violence to the most subtle psychological ties by which one mind controls another” [4] Morgenthau’s this definition supports the relational approach to power which also encourage a change in outcome favorable to the one who is exercising power.





Morgenthau recognized two categories of factors determining the power positions of nations;

Tangible elements such as geography, natural resources, military preparedness, and population. And Intangible elements such as national character, national morale, the quality of diplomacy  and the quality of government.



Morgenthau stated: “power …. tends to be equated with material strength, especially of a military nature, I have stressed more than before its immaterial aspects” (Morgenthau 1965: 9)[5], by highlighting “armed forces” as the most important material aspect of power.



Machiavelli talked about power only in the political or social context and was not interested in nature unless it was related to “man”.



As an example, Machiavelli maintains that the prince must “learn the nature of the land, how steep the mountains are, how the valley debouch, where the plains lie, and understand the nature of rivers and swamps” so that one can “better see how to defend it”.[6]



In his book “The Twenty Years’ Crisis”, E. H. Carr also said that the power is an essential ingredient in politics.



He considered that the military is the “supreme importance”.  He however didn’t come up with a clear definition of power.



Carr also talked about the measuring of power and pointed out that states have an insatiable appetite for power. ‘The exercise of power’, he writes, ‘always appears to beget the appetite for more power.’



Power is a main driving force of international politics, according to Carr and power can be military, economic or ideology  (over opinion). However, he believed that the military power is the most important since the possibility of war is always present.



For classical realists like Machiavelli, Thucydides and Morgenthau, power located around the human nature to dominate others.



Realists view international relations almost exclusively as a “struggle for power” among competing nation-states. States, like human beings, have an innate desire to dominate others.

Classical realists argue that the politics as a continuous struggle for power directly from the human constrain for power.

Morgenthau argued that all men held an insatiable “lust for power”, supporting that the “man is a political animal by nature”. And according to him, men are born to seek power.



Structural Realists on Power



The structural realists also accept that the international politics is a continuous struggle for power but they mainly emphasize that power is located on international anarchy. When power is an end in itself for classical realists, for structural realists power is a means to an end and the ultimate end is survival.



Structural realists predominantly emphasize on international anarchy. John Herz concurs that international anarchy assures the centrality of the struggle for power “even in the absence of aggressivity  or similar factors”, while Waltz argues that it is the structure of the system that forces states to seek power.



For Structural realists, the most important step that can take to ensure their own survival is to accumulate a sufficient amount of power.  However, there’s an important distinction among structural realists on concept of power based on defensive and offensive realists.  



We can study a significant difference in structural realists on why do states need power. according to defensive realist like Kenneth Waltz it is unwise for states to try to  maximize their share of world power, because the system will punish them if they attempt to gain too much of power.



In contrasts, offensive realists like john Mearsheimer agrees that it makes good strategic sense for states to gain as much power as possible.



Offensive realists argue that states should act to gain more power whenever it is possible and their ultimate aim should be hegemony, which will ensure the survival, while defensive realists identified that the international system creates a strong incentive to gain additional power as Kenneth Waltz calls an “appropriate amount of power”



Accordingly, what structural realists believe is that having overwhelming power is the best way to ensure one’s own survival.



Structural realism emphasizes power & power position’s effect on the content, strength, and fragility of international regimes.



Even though Waltz hasn’t given a clear definition on power, his descriptions include the components such as, the size of population and territory, resource endowment, economic capability, military strength, political stability and competence.

However, non-material measurements of power are also present in Waltz’s theory, based on political stability and competence. Waltz stated that the anarchical international system inevitably leads to the self-help and power politics. Waltz believes that states are security maximizers rather than being power-maximizers, when classical realist like Morgenthau who indicated   ‘power as an end in itself’,



Thomas Hobbes describes the realist approach to international relations in a world of anarchy and selfhelp, where individuals cumulative into states seek to maintain or to increase power.

Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli were similarly commenting their views on human nature and the function of the authority of the state.



According to Hobbes, “The power of a man is his present means, to obtain some future apparent good[7]



Hobbes didn’t restrict himself of social interaction. In Hobbesian theory, Power is a far broader concept than a social power.



According to John Mearsheimer, Power is based on the material capabilities that a state controls, which include the tangible military assets such as armored divisions and nuclear weapons, that states possess.



He also believes that states have a second kind of power, latent power, which refers to the socio-economic ingredients that go into building military power. Mearsheimer started differentiate two kinds of power which is military and latent power. State’s effective power is military power based on the strength and the size of the army. He specified the forces as sea power, strategic airpower, land power and nuclear power. He added even though these types of power contribute to overall state power, land power is the dominant form of military power.





Unlike classical realism, structural realism does not include consideration of the effects of the policies and behavior of states on international politics. Instead, it considers the outcomes of a state policies depend mainly on the variation of the structure within which their actions occur.



Modified Realists on Power



Modified realism also called as neoclassical realism is focusing on foreign policy, and all three levels of analysis such as the international, the state, and the individual are also present. Like all realists, Modified realists also concur that the international politics is a continuous struggle for power. But they are mainly focusing on foreign policy behaviors and decisions of states.

Modified realism, as a part of realist theory, shares all the core assumptions of realist theory. They believe that the states are the principal actors in the international system and the states are acting as a unitary rational actors.  They believe that the country’s foreign policy is driven first and lead by the relative material power, but it argues that the impact of power capabilities on foreign policy is indirect and complex.



According to Neoclassical realists, Foreign policy is an outcome of state’s position in the international system and the domestic factors such as material resources. The main concern of modified realists is the explanation of foreign policy behavior of states based on grand strategy, military policy, international economic policy etc.

For neoclassical realists, States are not “like units”. Randall Schweller said ‘complex domestic political processes act as transmission belts that channel, mediate, and (re)direct policy outputs in response to external forces (primarily changes in relative power)’[8]



When talking about the measurement of power by modified realists, Schweller effectively used the correlates of war (COW) database to examine the balance of power. He asserted that the distinct measures of national power are military, industrial & demographic.



However, neoclassical realist like William Wohlforth said “if power influences the courses of international politics, it must do so largely through the perceptions of the people who make decision on behalf of states” [9]



Secondly, neoclassical realists consider their analysis of foreign policy is a domestic structure. The reason they claim that the states are not units, is that states have different domestic structure.



Fareed Zakaria differentiates states on the basis of states’ ability to remove and direct resources from the societies that they rule. He believes that the different between national power and the state strength is needed.



He defines state power as ‘that portion of national power the government can extract for its purposes and [which thus] reflects the ease with which central decision-makers can achieve their ends’, is the key variable of his neoclassical version of state-centered realism.



Neoclassical realists finalized that states have different domestic structure as well as different interests. Neoclassical realists assume more specifically that power as a state’s place in the international system, or its relative power- is the main determinant of state behavior or the independent variable.







Summary



As explained in above sections, the realists concur that states are continuously competing for power in international politics, but there is a lack of consensus to conceptualize power. Three different versions of realism explain differently about the power-seeking manners of states.



In summarizing, we can indicate the different assumptions on power by three realist groups, depend on key areas such as:



-         Nature of power

-         Location of power

-         Measurement of power



For classical realists, the nature of power is relational and material resources. And power is located around individuals and states. Nature of power for structural realists, material resources and the power is located in international anarchy, relative distribution of capabilities among the states. Neoclassical realists concur that the struggle for power between states is not merely a logical outcome, but this is influenced by intervening variables located at the level of individual and the state. Modified realists see the nature of power through material resources, while the power is located around individual, domestic structure and international anarchy.

Accordingly, it was explained how different categories of realism support their various explanations on states’ behaviors in the competition of power in the international system.





Classical realists measure power with indefinable attempt to unite quantitative and qualitative elements. Structural realists measure power with military power and latent power, while some realists stress on various national attributes. Structural realists also claim that the states are power maximisers. And Modified realists measure power using decision-makers’ perception and state strength.



Realists believe that power is the key role in the international politics, however the substantial difference among the three type of realisms is always competing when conceptualizing power.






[1] Realism and International Relations, Jack Donnelly, Cambridge University Press , 2000, P. 4


[2] Realism and International Relations, Jack Donnelly, Cambridge University Press , 2000, p. 6


[3] International Relations: Critical Concepts in Political Science, Volume 4 By Andrew Linklater, Page 1681


[4] Morgenthau, Politics among nations, p.9


[5] Morgenthau, Politics among nations, p. ix


[6] Nicola Machiavelli, The Price, P.82


[7] Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan p.57


[8] Randall L. Schweller, ‘Unanswered Threats: A Neoclassical Realist Theory

of Underbalancing’, International Security 29, no. 2 (2004): 164.




[9] Wohlforth, The Elusive Balance,2



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