Realpolitik

The article examines the origins and conceptual analysis capabilities of international relations in the framework of a realistic paradigm. We research political conditions and preconditions of the creation of realism’s theory and axiological features of realism’s practice in international relations. We also analyze the basic concepts and schools of realism: Realpolitik, political realism, neorealism, neoclassical realism. It is shown that based on the balance of power in the Realpolitik Prussian and Austrian cases, this understanding of politics within the systematics of the XIX century; the adaptation of the bourgeois
liberal and national ideas to the foreign-policy specifics Germany middle of the XIX century. It is shown that political realism is targeting an international actor on the desire to subjugate the
greatest possible political space. In the case of political weakness (absolute or relative) political realism indicates a way of adapting to circumstances in order to achieve the most desirable of the possible. The article discusses the concept A. Rochau, H. Morgenthau, H. Kissinger, K. Waltz, showing differences and instrumentality realistic theories and concludes that the main provisions of the concept as a whole.

This essay explores the triangular relations between de Gaulle's France, the Federal Republic of Germany and the US during the 1960s, in three policy areas: military (nuclear) policy; European policy; and East-West relations. It explores de Gaulle's vision for a 'grande nation' within an independent Europe, and finds that while Bonn largely rejected this vision in favour of coordination with Washington, this was not the result of socio-cultural ties between the US and Germany, but in each instance for specific realpolitical reasons.

This study, first published by the Academy of Athens in 1998, subsequently formed a chapter in the book: Exopolitics (Nova, N.Y. 1999).
The excerpt here focuses on the effects of the classical theories of Plato and Aristotle relating to war and peace. The Greek philosophers searched for the root causes of war and the conditions of peace, including power politics, natural law, and world order. Thus, we shall describe and explain their conclusions about the causes for large scale organized violence, as well as their proposals of the way to establish a more lasting peace.
Although they only know their microcosm twenty-five centuries ago, their philosophic ideas are so fundamental as to be still pertinent and may help us resolve or attenuate these perennial problems in our global world.

This University of Bristol (UOB) dissertation analysed the role of BRICS in regional and global governance. 
It theorises BRICS and explains how it views the militarisation of disputes, its desired role in the financial system and outlines its response to climate change.  Presented information in this theoretically informed documentary analysis is extracted from extensive research of literature, academic and think thank reports, media articles and official information.

It concludes that in the researched areas, BRICS applies a grand strategy to soft balance the United States and neoliberalism as an ideological competitor and applies realpolitik in the Global South.  By framing themselves as developing nations who has capital to make change, BRICS makes a case to be connected to Southern development problems like poverty and the climate and along make gains to increase soft power, capital and broader recognition as a credible partner. 

The dissertation reconfirms the view that BRICS uphold Westphalian sovereignty to decide its own trajectory in international affairs.  It implies that strong initiatives to change current political-economical structures are not directly expected, but with its initiative BRICS adds further ideological competition to libertarian agendas, questions current development models and adds on further decay in coorporation with the Global North.

Explaining the philosophy of Machiavelli on the example of street racing: power, deception, realist behaviour, realist ethics, violence. The article was first published on Drivetribe. The article is a part of the book "Introduction to Academic Driving" (Ost Neer, KPD, 2019).

We call for a research program focused on the dynamics of global power politics. Rather than link realpolitik to structural-realist theoretical frameworks or the putatively anarchical character of world politics, the program treats power politics as an object of analysis in its own right. It embraces debate over the nature of global power politics among scholars working with distinctive approaches. It sees the structural contexts of power politics as highly variable and often hierarchical in character. It attenuates ex ante commitments to the centrality of states in global politics. And it takes for granted that actors deploy multiple resources and modalities of power in their pursuit of influence. What binds this diverse research program together is its focus on realpolitik as the politics of collective mobilization in the context of the struggle for influence among political communities, broadly understood. Thus, the study of the dynamics of collective mobilization—the causal and constitutive pathways linking efforts at mobilization with enhanced power—brings together approaches to security studies together in a shared study of power politics.

Anarchism and geography have a long and disjointed history, characterized by towering peaks of intensive intellectual engagement and low troughs of ambivalence and disregard. This paper traces a genealogy of anarchist geographies back to the modern development of anarchism into a distinct political philosophy following the Enlightenment. The initial rise of geographers’ engagement with anarchism occurred at the end of the nineteenth-century, owing to Élisée Reclus and Peter Kropotkin, who developed an emancipatory vision for geography in spite of the discipline’s enchantment with imperialism at that time. The realpolitik of the war years in the first half of the twentieth-century and the subsequent quantitative revolution in geography represent a nadir for anarchist geographies. Yet anarchism was never entirely abandoned by geographical thought and the counterculture movement of the 1970s gave rise to radical geography, which included significant interest in anarchist ideas. Unfortunately another low occurred during the surge of neoliberal politics in the 1980s and early 1990s, but hope springs eternal, and from the late 1990s onward the anti-globalization movement and DIY culture have pushed anarchist geographies into more widespread currency. In reviewing the literature, I hope to alert readers to the ongoing and manifold potential for anarchist geographies to inform both geographical theory and importantly, to give rise to more practice-based imperatives where building solidarities, embracing reciprocity, and engaging in mutual aid with actors and communities beyond the academy speaks to the ‘freedom of geography’ and its latent capacity to shatter its own disciplinary circumscriptions.

This paper deals with the background, role players, sequence of events, geopolitical considerations and history of the Angolan War which took place from 1975 to 1990 between the Soviet Union and its allies & proxies on the one hand, and the Republic of South Africa and its allies on the other. It also has a section presenting a rebuttal of previously published material on this subject, and a section on disinformation techniques used in and by the Soviet Union.

The status of ‘international law’ is examined critically. In the first section, the basis of (national) legislation is described. This consists of an inquiry into a credible meaning of ‘natural law’. It is focused on the question whether universal principles exist and, if so, of what kind. Section 2 deals with the issue of enforcement. National legislation invariably realizes this, but this is not obvious at the international level. Section 3 deals with human rights. It is discussed whether their presence points to the existence of ‘international law’. To this end, a possible reason for these rights to have developed is expounded.

The presence of the United States in northeastern Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State is justified in the context of the confrontation with Iran and Russia in the Middle East. However, by relying primarily on the YPG (People's Protection Units), an outshoot of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), Washington creates an existential threat to Ankara and pushes Turkey into the arms of enemies of the United States. The inversion of local power to the benefit of the Kurds and the disastrous economic situation strikes the Arab populations, who are turning to Damascus. That calls into question all the calculations made by strategists who are not interested in the deep reality of the territory that must support their actions.

in the spirit of the 'limited ecumenicity' that T. Lounghis discerns in the macedonian dynasty's handling of the Christian west. 8 A century and more after Constantine and his aides composed the De administrando, Byzantines in court circles inclined to regard the Taurus mountain-range as marking the limits of wholly 'Roman' territories, viewing the landscape, climate and population-groups beyond with some detachment. Michael Attaleiates wrote of Turkish incursions between the mesopotamian theme and the themes of melitene and-in the Taurus range-Lykandos as being God's wrath against their Armenian, Nestorian and other heretical inhabitants. 'These lands', he remarked, 'teem with false doctrine of this sort'. 9 Attaleiates also commented on the excessive heat of 'the Syrian parts' in summer: romanos Iv diogenes had stationed his men in the Lykandos theme during the summer months of 1068, postponing operations against the Turks in Syria so as to spare his men 'the unaccustomed heat'. 10 Indeed, the climate of the Holy Land was fair game among Byzantine intellectuals in the twelfth century, judging by the jibes of Constantine Manasses. 'How', he asked, 'O Christ, did you sojourn so long in dry, suffocating, burning, deadly places? If I think of the choking air of Nazareth, I am amazed at your humility, O Word!' 11 manasses wrote his poem on travels in the eastern mediterranean region for the diversion of members of the Komnenian court.

“Realism (International Relations),” in America in the World, 1776 to the Present: A Supplement to the Dictionary of American History, ed. Edward J. Blum, Cara Burnidge, Emily Conroy-Krutz, and David Kinkela (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2016).

Destroying the Islamic State (IS) and limiting the influence of Iran is a difficult project. The United States has more capabilities in Syria than in Iraq to destroy IS and limit Iran. The Sunni Arab tribes of the Euphrates Valley no longer support the Islamic State and are ready to join those who will liberate them, which explains the effectiveness of the Syrian Democratic Forces (Kurdish-Arab) against IS. Thus the liberation of Raqqa could thus take place in fall 2017, provided Turkey does not launch an offensive against the Syrian Kurds.

A serious governance problem will also emerge following the defeat of IS. In Iraq the return of Baghdad's army risks creating the conditions for a new Sunni insurgency. In Syria violence between the tribes and the Kurdish militias must be avoided. Bashar al-Assad and his allies are anticipating chaos in the Euphrates Valley so they can impose their vision of a Pax Syriana.

In what ways are Japanese foreign and security policies changing? How far will these changes go? Will they result in a policy posture that breaks from the post-1945 approach as originally designed by Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru? This special issue presents six articles that address these questions. They tackle the relationship between recent changes in Japanese domestic policy institutions and Japanese diplomatic and security practice. In this introduction, we outline the significance of the essays’ findings and propose a methodological shift in the interpretation of Japanese policy. We make the case that Japan’s approach to diplomatic and security affairs under Abe is evidence of the emergence of a ‘Realpolitik Japan’. From this perspective, we argue that values and political ideology have translated into practical choices that make the question of the ‘break with the post-1945’ approach less relevant to understand the significance of political change.

Este artículo brinda una visión sinóptica de la concepción realista de la política, desde una perspectiva que simultáneamente filosófica, politológica e histórica. Por cierto, el articulista intenta dar respuesta a la pregunta de qué se entiende por realismo político, y para cumplir con tal propósito explica, analiza y critica la respuesta que Hans Morgenthau dio a dicha interrogante. Finalmente, en su parte conclusiva distingue dos dimensiones del realismo político y propone algunos criterios para construir un concepto del mismo.

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This article gives a synoptic vision of the realist conception of politics from a perspective whic is simultaneosly philosofical, politologic and historic. The writer tries to respond to the question of what is political realism, to achieve this explains analyses and criticizes the response that Hans Mongenthau gave to this question. Finally, in its conclusion, the author distinguishes two dimensions of political realism and proposes some criteria to construct a concept of it.

What, if anything, can realism say about the normative conditions of political legitimacy? Must a realist political theory accept that the ability to successfully employ coercive power in order to ensure compliance is equivalent to the right to rule, or can it incorporate normative criteria for legitimacy but without collapsing into a form of moralism? While critics argue that realism fails to adequately differentiate itself from moralism or that it cannot coherently appeal to normative values so as to distinguish might from right, this paper seeks to help develop a realist account of legitimacy by showing how it can successfully and stably occupy this position between moralism and Realpolitik. Through this discussion, however, the paper also argues that political rule necessitates the use of coercive power which is (at best) imperfectly legitimated, and that this blurs the distinction between politics and successful domination which lies at the heart of many recent accounts of political realism. In at least this sense, realism retains important and underacknowledged affinities to Realpolitik.

The study of international relations has long been stuck in a state of limbo where advocates of different schools of thought – be it realism, neorealism, liberalism or Marxism – would aim to prove their understanding of the international system right, while also discrediting contending accounts. Although advances are occasionally made (usually within already existing frameworks, by enlisting interdisciplinary analysis) during episodic long campaigns often called interparadigm ‘debates’, the trenches remain close to where they were at the time of the first great debate, just after the First World War (Kurki and Wight, 2013: 14).

The analogy between interparadigm debates in international relations and trench warfare is intentional. The essay argues that although comparing and contrasting neorealist and neomarxist understandings of hegemony is certainly possible, it might not necessarily be the most useful method of studying the current world order. As these two approaches see international relations through fundamentally different lenses and rely on significantly dissimilar basic assumptions, pitching them against each other might recall the spirit of trench warfare in drawing the reader into a desperate struggle where neither parties can realistically hope for a quick and decisive victory.

What is proposed instead is a more holistic approach where different paradigms applied together might help researchers form a more nuanced framework that offers a more complex, refined understanding of the hows and whys of international relations.

China's move to arm Pakistan with an advanced state-of-the-art missile tracking system that is expected to dramatically bolster Rawalpindi's multi-warhead missile arsenal, fortifies the strategic nature of the bilateral relationship that Beijing has assiduously cultivated as a counterweight to India's rise in Asia. The interesting thing about this deal, however, is not that China has allowed the sale of such sophisticated equipment to Pakistan but that it has chosen to spill the beans.

El trabajo de análisis y opinión que aquí se presenta se realizará entorno al discurso dado por Trump frente a los delegados de las Naciones Unidas en 2017 tras tomar la presidencia de los Estados Unidos de América (2016). El objetivo de este trabajo será plasmar de forma necesariamente breve, lo característico de este discurso así como también tratar de comprenderlo desde la teoría.

This research aims to understand the nature and underlying motives of the EU’s relations with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The frequently claimed normative role of the EU will be examined in the context of the EU- CELAC summit relations, and the cases should be outlined that cause a switch to Realpolitik behavior. Thereby, the EU’s engagement in regional integration and interregional cooperation will be illustrated and EU-CELAC cooperation areas concerning the fight against poverty and social inequality, the consolidation of good governance and the promotion of peace, and lastly, the regional integration, trade, and economic cooperation are analyzed to reach an understanding of their normative or Realpolitik content. The research illustrates the ways of understanding the EU’s normative behavior and power, and the nature of the cooperation between the EU and the CELAC, whereby it should be shown that the EU acts according to normative consideration and only in few exceptions turns towards Realpolitik behavior.

Brasília, 2 junho 2008, 5 p. Digressões rápidas sobre esse conceito e o seu oposto, a Idealpolitik. Publicado em Mundorama.Net; em Meridiano 47 (Brasília: nr. 95, junho 2008, p. 2-4; ISSN: 1518-1219); Via Política (7.07.2008). Relação de Publicados n. 842.

Eine ästhetische und marxistische Auseinandersetzung mit der Linkspartei und sogenannten "neuen" Linken in Deutschland Vorwort Diese Arbeit ist Produkt meiner Erfahrung in den letzten sieben Jahren mit den "neuen" Linken in Deutschland und gleichzeitig eine theoretische Kritik der falschen Praxis der sogenannten "neuen" Linken. Ich nehme die Linkspartei als ein Beispiel und ein Dach, unter dem alle diese Kräfte trotz ihrer Kritik an dieser oder jener Position der Linkspartei irgendwie gezwungen sind, mit der Linkspartei zu arbeiten oder eine Koalition mit ihr einzugehen. Die trotzkistischen Gruppen sind ebenso ein Beispiel dafür wie die IL. Der Konsens und Pluralismus sind die neue Religion dieser uneinheitlichen Strömungen. Mit Konsens und Pluralismus meinen sie eigentlich die Abschaffung jeder Art der "Freiheit der Kritik" im Sinne von Lenin und die Überwindung der Dialektik. Habermas hat schon längst diese reaktionären, antidialektischen, naiven Auffassung in seiner "Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns" dargelegt und vertreten. Er ging davon aus, eine "neue" Auffassung des Marxismus zu vertreten, aber das war genau die Integration in die reaktionäre bürgerliche Logik innerhalb der bestehenden Ordnung für das Aufrechterhalten des Kapitalismus. Hier versuche ich, möglichst knappt meine Beobachtungen zu theoretisieren und die Philosophie der Praxis anzuwenden. Diese Analyse darf nicht als journalistischer Texte oder ethnologische Feldforschung verstanden werden, obwohl ich teilweise eine anthropologische Methode verwende. Die Anthropologie wird hier als Methode benutzt und gegen den anthropologischen Positivismus und Skeptizismus verwendet, die weltweit getrieben werden. Die naive positivistische Gleichgültigkeit der heutigen postmodernen Ethnologie und Anthropologie teile ich nicht, sondern ich stelle mich mit all meinen Kräften auf die Seite der Unterdrückten und das Proletariats, zu dem ich selbst gehöre. Ideologisch vertrete ich den orthodoxen Marxismus. In Laufe des Textes zeige ich, was ich unter orthodoxem Marxismus verstehe. Diese Kritik soll nicht zur Enttäuschung von der politischen linken Arbeit führen mit dem Ergebnis der Resignation, sondern als eine Kritik, die im Interesse der Radikalisierung der linken und Arbeiterbewegung ihre Wirkung in der politischen Reflexion der radikaleren Mitglieder der "neuen" Linken entfalten soll. Es geht mir hier nicht um ein reines Schlechtreden der "neuen" Linken, sondern auch darum, positive Ansätze und Anknüpfungspunkte herauszuarbeiten. Einleitung Die Linkpartei ist eine Zusammensetzung aus vielen verschiedenen Richtungen und Strömungen, die sich als "neue" Linken verstehen. Unabhängig davon, wie viele Mitglieder der Linkspartei in Berührung mit dem Begriff "neue Linke" gekommen sind oder nicht, gehören die Partei die Linke und deren außerparlamentarische Strömungen zu den "neuen" Linken. Die Linke ist eine Zusammensetzung aus linksliberalen Menschen bis Sozialdemokraten, Querfront, esoterischen

Pursuant to Art. 52 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Pro-tection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, “civilian objects shall not bethe object of attack or of reprisals”. Such objects include hospitals, market squares,schools, residential buildings or modern urban life institutions. Reports on attackson civilians make us realise the fragility of human beings. How shall we under-stand the category of ‘civilian’? How does this category function nowadays, andwhy is it so important for the modern lifestyle? These questions will be addressedthrough the exploration of the Civil March for Aleppo case study. The march thatstarted in Berlin on 26th December 2016 is an inherently apolitical initiative whichwas organised by civilians for civilians. However, since it started there has beena discussion among the marching Syrians and Europeans on political issues sur-rounding the march and the ‘illusion of objectivity’ – whether other, engaged par-ties’ viewpoint should be taken into consideration in the march.
I joined the march twice, for a few days, had a lot of conversations with the par-ticipants and took part in discussions that sometimes turned into aggressive, hours-long, argumentative exchanges. The words of one female activist saying that “peacewithout justice is just an empty word,” I treat as a starting point for my explora-tion of the notion of aptness in the combining of politics with humanitarianism.On the one hand, campaigners, such as Linda Polman and David Rieff, politicians,such as Colin Powell, and philosophers, Giorgio Agamben, criticise the ‘neutralityof humanitarianism’ rule, because strict following of this principle results in thecooperation of NGOs with authoritarian regimes and losing the credibility of peacekeeping missions. On the other hand, philosophers specialising in armed conflicts,such as David W. Lovell and Igor Primoratz, point out that the civilian’s immunity isnot categorical. This criticism is not without merit, but participation in the marchmade me understand how important it is to pose questions, from both the faraway,overseas, civilians’ perspective and from the European one. Namely, are we – theoutsiders - capable enough to understand the complexity of the Syrian conflict andtake one of the sides? Or, the only thing we can do is not adopt a particular polit-ical stance but adopt a distinctive humanitarian attitude. Should initiatives suchas the civilian March for Aleppo remain neutral or, rather, should they be againstsomething (whether it is the Assad rule, Russia, or European decision-makersor somebody else entirely)? Is it possible to be impartial without being neutral?All these questions are significant due to the fundamental separation of politicsand war from the civilians’ life.

En este ensayo se presenta un conjunto de acontecimientos que, habiendo sido vividos por el autor y no platicados ni leídos, quien los relata tiene la certeza de su certidumbre. Estos sucesos reflejan, a partir de los antecedentes del caso que pasó a la historia como " la negociación del FOBAPROA " , esto es, la manera como se negoció el gran quebranto bancario sufrido por México a partir de " la crisis de diciembre de 1994 " , cómo se maneja la política en México y de qué manera se proyectan sus protagonistas. En las negociaciones privadas con las cuales se salvaguardaron los intereses del sistema bancario nacional, apéndice de la oligarquía bancaria financiera internacional, se pactó la mal llamada transición democrática del país del año 2000, que no fue sino un simple cambio del color del partido que gobierna sin cambiar los principios y manteniendo intocados los intereses de los dueños del poder de facto de siempre. De paso, como daño colateral, insignificante para los grandes poderes oligárquicos, se hundió al pueblo mexicano al someterlo a pagar una deuda que no le correspondía. Esta historia salió por primera vez a la luz en tres artículos publicados en La Jornada Aguascalientes los días 7, 14 y 21 de septiembre de 2009.

In this article, I take stock of the lessons and conclusions I have drawn from the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, focusing on the main actors of international politics and the world order. Drawing from international relations theory, I make the somewhat surprising claim that a Realpolitik lens would suggest self-interested cooperation among countries in the age of COVID-19. The countries of the world would fare better at managing the coronavirus pandemic if they were to cooperate— cooperation is in their national interest.