Chart 1-3: New Geopolitical Theory
1.4.2 The Perspective of New Realism
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neighbors if it were to side with other major powers the Turkmen have chosen a neutral strategy.
Kyrgyzstan
Though, Kyrgyzstan said it would follow the example of Switzerland in rigorously pursuing a policy of neutrality, it is also willing to take a pragmatic position in its bilateral and multilateral ties and cooperative relations.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan is a small, mountainous country, small size. It experienced civil war and continuing unrest and factional rivalries while surrounded by neighboring powers. The
presence of Russian and other large-scale military deployment has been causing a geopolitical dilemma. Before “911” it had adopted the policy of strategic alliances, yet after the events of 911 it has tended to utilize a balancing strategy.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is located in the center of Central Asia, having a large population while its military enjoys a relatively strong industrial base comparative to others in the region, so that it has played a swing role between Russia and the U.S.
Kazakhstan
Acting as Eurasia’s center, Kazakhstan is close to its neighbors, Russia and China, two great powers. Kazakhstan wants to play the role of a “regional great power” acting as a balance; hence it has selected a balanced strategy at multiple levels.
1.4.2 The Perspective of New Realism
The common convention of both Realism and Neo-realism is that the international realm is in a state of “anarchy” without central government, and that states act as rational actors. While Realism defines the state as the main actor, which will pursue maximum benefit for its survival when considering its national interests, on the contrary, Neo-realism analyzes from
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the system level (three levels) including individual, the state and the international system.
Neo-realism proposes pursuit of power as just a means to safeguard national security. It also points out capabilities of each state which result in distribution of power (ordering principles) in the international system.
1.4.2.1 The Perspective of Realism
Wilson and fellow Idealists proposed after the First World War that the establishment of international organizations through international cooperation would resolve discord and conflicts and eradicate wars. Therefore the League of Nations was advocated as an attempt to preserve peace. The outbreak of the Second World War nevertheless proved that the ideal of maintaining international order by establishing international organizations was intangible. The international community continued to be, again per the view of the theory of Realism, in a state of anarchy, and nation states still went on prioritizing their national interest of ensuring survival by securing power and dominance.
Such a phenomenon led to the prominence of postwar realism. Some significant figures that may be included in this school of thought are Max Weber, Hans J. Morgenthau, George F.
Kennan, and Henry Kissinger. Hans J. Morgenthau is by all means the most representative of this school of thought in his views in comparison with others. His Politics among Nations has also become a masterpiece of classical realism. 23
Morgenthau's views of classical realism stem from the premise that human nature is evil.
Under such an assumption, pursuing power becomes a necessary means and objective.
National interests can only be defended when power is in the possession of the state, and the best method in power politics is the balance of power. Concepts such as “evil human nature,”
“power politics,” “national interests,” and “balance of power” are all core principles of realism.
23 Morgenthau, Hans J. Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967), p.4-11.
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Classical realism became the mainstream of international relations after the Second World War. The surge of “behaviorism” in the 1960s, along with its viewpoints explaining the new phenomena being experienced by the international community, challenged the fundamental principles of classical realism and evoked fierce debates in academic circle. Realists hence have adopted the structural system and other new methods from behaviorism yet these are still based on classical realism, while offering corrections and amendments to classical realism.
Concepts of systemic structure, power distribution, security awareness, and national interest were then developed into a sound and integrated theoretical framework as a re-interpretation of realism, which is generally called “neorealism” or “structural realism.” Kenneth Waltz is the most prominent scholar of the school of neorealism.
In Waltz's book Man, the State, and War published in 1959, he first introduces the three levels employed in analyzing international political phenomena, which are respectively the individual, the state, and the international system. The individual level emphasizes human nature and behavior and claims that wars can only be avoided by correcting the individual's mentality or moral values. The state level places the focus on a nation’s domestic factors. A country's politics, economics, and social structure are deemed to determine the pattern and nature of its participation in international politics. The level of international system in turn screens out individual or national domestic factors, and purely analyzes international phenomena from international perspectives. Its basic hypothesis is that the international community is in an “anarchic state.” It means that there is no sovereign body that governs the interactions between autonomous nation-states. Waltz in his Theory of International Politics articulates the theory of international system, which has contributed to the foundational framework of the theory of neorealism. 24
Neorealism, as well as classical realism, reckons that the international community is in
“a state of anarchy,” also that states are the main actors in the international community. States will pursue their interests through rational actions. The pursuit of power is consequently a
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nation's means to ensure its survival and development. Neorealism nonetheless asserts that power is a means rather than the objective, which is done to safeguard national security.
Neorealism further asserts that when explaining international political phenomena, one should observe the overall distribution of power instead of evaluating it from a few, limited isolated events that occur under the influence of that power. Two of Waltz's critical factors for
consideration are:
1) The system interacts with its units (components)
Neorealism proposes that the relative positions, capabilities, and power distribution of units (sovereign states) that exists in an “anarchic” international political structure are
extremely crucial. Waltz even affirms that the “ordering or positioning arrangement of units”
is in fact the definition of a structure. Only when relative positions change will the structure alter. A sovereign state's capabilities dictate its influence in international politics and its impact on the overall structure. If a state's capability and ordering arrangement undergo changes, so will the international political structure. The change of power distribution among sovereign states changes the systemic structure; structural changes will equally lead to shifts in states' behavior.
2) The balance of power is an inevitable state
Waltz is convinced that the balance of power is a norm among the international community; as long as two or more states are still striving for survival in the so-called
“anarchic environment,” then the balance of power will occur. Regardless of the willingness of those states to do so, they all the same sustain the balance of power. Whether a state has any motive to maintain the balance of power is irrelevant, as states are likely to take actions which do so. As a result, the systemic structure is also strongly inclined to be influenced to act towards the same direction. This balance-of-power theory addresses not how long the balance may be maintained, but rather argues that the balance of power would certainly surge in another manner if the previous balance were in any way impaired.
24 Waltz, Kenneth N. Theory of International Politics (Boston: Addison-Wesley, 1979), p.79-101.
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Table 1-1: Comparison of Realism and Neo-realism
Comparison between Realism and Neo-Realism
Realism Neo-Realism
Analysis Level
State as main actor (unit actor level): human
nature is evil hence the state will pursue maximum benefit
The system level (three levels) including individual, the state and the international system:
1. The individual level: emphasizes human nature 2. The state level: focuses on state's domestic factors such as politics, economics and social structure.
3. International system level: purely analyzes international phenomena from international perspectives
International Status
Anarchy Anarchy
State Rational actor Rational actor
Power State's final goal: pursuing maximum power for survival
Pursuit of power is just a means to safeguard national security
Balance of Power
State decision maker's design:
alliances against external threats
Capabilities of each state results in distribution of power (ordering principles) in the international system
Source: Zhang, Yazhong. (張亞中), International Relations, p. 48, Yangzhi Publishing Company
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國立 政 治 大 學