2. Evaluate which perspective, realist or liberal, has dominated the foreign policy of the United States since World War II. Ensure that you differentiate between rhetoric and reality in your analysis. Theory provides a road map for navigating the complex, strategic interactions amongst states. The predominate theories of international relations, realism and e liberalism, are based upon a distinct set of assumptions, which lead to an equally unique set of ways to achieve coherency in U.S. foreign policy.
I. INTRODUCTION Since their creation in 1945, nuclear weapons have posed a critical security risk, as they possess world-ending capabilities, and do not discriminate against those they affect. As of 2024, there are nine nuclear armed states as opposed to the single nuclear weapon state that existed in 1945. This is problematic because an increased number of nuclear-armed states raises the potential for a nuclear conflict to occur. Some individuals may argue that nuclear weapons do not pose an immediate security risk because they have not been used in conflict since the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The United States is by every metric the world’s sole, remaining superpower; however, per the National Priorities Project, “the United States still spends 54% of its GDP on its military, which translates into 598.5 billion dollars,” (National Priorities Project). The United States has 1,481 warheads, with 741 delivery vehicles, a mere 7 of these warheads could eliminate all life on the continent of Africa. The question then becomes why do we need so many of these weapons? The answer is we don’t. This paper will illustrate why the United States needs to eliminate these weapons and encourage others to do so as well.
If liberalism was the correct interpretation of the world, international institutions would prohibit states from maximizing their pursuit for power. After all, international institutions facilitate interaction amongst nations, and liberalism supposedly emphasizes the importance of international institutions in constraining state power and preserving peace. To this end, Posen and Ross note that the United Nations and European Union remain weak institutions, and while they are comprised of democratic, peace-loving states, it does not mean that they will always cooperate to settle disputes at the margins of traditional national interests. 8 Thus, irrespective of intentions, power reigns supreme.
Introduction The nuclear non-proliferation treaty (Known as the NPT) was introduced in 1968, according to the UN1to “Prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology”, while promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear knowledge. Although the treaty was introduced in 1968, it only came into action in 1970. To this day, 191 states are part of the treaty.
In the contemporary political landscape, one of the most heavily discussed sociopolitical issues is international nuclear proliferation. From the rising nuclear threat in North Korea to the aggrandizement of potential terroristic threats, international relations specialists have long pondered how the fear perpetuated by the spread of nuclear weapons can be alleviated. As one can likely infer being that nuclear proliferation has not ceased, the conclusion to this dilemma cannot be met without serious contemplation. Being that different specialists operate under the pretenses of different international relations theories, there are a plethora of perspectives from which one could theorize about the two most paramount dilemmas when it comes to
Just how trustworthy Iran will be if encountered with nuclear weapons has long been a conversation of great concern for many all over the world. There are several factors that play into the reasons why they should or should not be allowed to attain these weapons of mass destruction. However, although some may lean towards giving them this right, for the secured safety of everyone, it seems best to keep such deadly weapons away from Iran; the United States of America has many reasons for doing so. Such reasons include Iran’s history and the risks of an attack on Israel, which led to the agreement between the US and Iran. Iran’s nuclear program first began in the 1950’s.
Hemmer argues that there are dangers of a preventative military strike. He states that the idea that the people of Iran would react to a military strike by supporting the overthrow of the already existing regime is unrealistic. He further states that the more likely outcome would be strengthening of the current regime, and damage America’s interest in the regime. This is because any military actions towards Iran would cause “seismic shocks” through global energy markets when the price of oil is already at its peak. Additionally, any preventative attack is only a temporary fix to the problem, even if the attack succeeded, there would be consequential aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.
The catastrophic experience with the nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in1945 left the entire world with fear and horror. The former US secretary of war Lewis Stimson, rightly remarked that "the atomic bomb was more than a weapon of terrible destruction; it was a psychological weapon. " This horrific psychological impact generated a nuclear taboo which remains in practice till present. The nuclear taboo against the use of nuclear weapons due to its horrific threat to humanity has strengthened over time. Moreover, there was also a trend towards the possession and proliferation of nuclear weapons after 1945, the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear weapon in August 1949.
The first great-war shattered the human mind so profound that out of its aftermaths’ emerged a fresh discipline (in 1919 at the University of Whales known to us as International Relations) proposed to prevent war. “It was deemed by the scholars that the study of International Politics shall find the root cause of the worlds political problems and put forward solutions to help politicians solve them” (Baylis 2014:03). International Relations happened to play the role of a ‘correcting-mechanism’ restoring the world order of peace and amity by efforting at its best to maintain the worlds’ status quo. However with the emergence of a second world war much more massive that the first put at stake all the values of that young discipline of IR. The
national politics Adam Watson’s Evolution of International Society gave a new dimension in the understanding of international relations (IR). He deeply studied comparatively the formation of international society and political community of the past which has evolved into the modern world system in his ‘Evolution of International Society’. Unlike Kenneth Waltz views of anarchy as the only system in IR, Watson says there are two systems viz. anarchy and hierarchy. In between these systems is the hegemony which defines the contemporary IR.
Section A; 1) How does Kenneth Waltz’s idea of ‘capabilities’ differ from Hans Morgenthau’s idea of ‘power’? Does this have any effect on how each view the nature of international politics? Introduction This paper will focus on the main difference of certain points in two theories, idea of “capabilities” by neorealist Kenneth Waltz and idea of “power” by Hans Morgenthau. Both theorists tried to explain how the international system works and how its structure has an influence on the international politics.
The current work is meant to explain the differences and similarities between the most dominant theories in international relations, Realism and Liberalism, both theories have some similarities and differences but much more important and interesting is to discuss and explain what differs and makes similar both theories. Conflicts and wars, Similarities and differences between Realism and Liberalism: Both Liberalism and Realism believes that there is no world government that can prevent countries to go to war on one another. For both theories military power is important and both Realism and Liberalism can understand that countries can use military power to get what they need or want. Also, both theories are conscious that without military
Morgenthau’s Six Principles summarized: • International Relations theory is a rational theory that reflects the objective laws of politics • Politics is rational, objective, and unemotional. It is an autonomous sphere, independent of economics and personal morality • Power is the control of man over man and International politics is about national interests though these interests reflect the political and cultural context within which foreign policy is formulated • Political ethics is different
The international relations schools of thought known as Realism and Idealism identify specific and similar characteristics of actors in the conceptual development of their theories. While many of these characteristics can be generalized as being synonymous with the two theories, both theories make a separate distinction in what specifically constitutes an actor. In Realism, the term “actor” refers directly and solely to the state: a combination of government, leaders, decision-makers, etc, that act as a unitary entity to promote the interests of the state. Idealists, however, expand on what constitutes an actor to include both the state and people. Not only do the principles of Idealism assert that the state and people should be considered actors, in fact, both they must be viewed as actors.
