StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Democratic Peace Hypothesis and Realist Theory - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "The Democratic Peace Hypothesis and Realist Theory" discusses the democratic peace theory that nations with democratic governments are unlikely to go to war with each other. The democratic peace theory tends to cater to the idealist and classical liberalist traditions…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.4% of users find it useful
The Democratic Peace Hypothesis and Realist Theory
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Democratic Peace Hypothesis and Realist Theory"

Kenneth N. Waltz points out that “Morgenthau…thought of the “rational” statesmen as ever striving to accumulate more and more power. He viewed power as an end in itself”1. The concept of the evil nature of those who try to grasp power is disputed by Morgenthau with this stance, and it questions the democratic peace theory’s hypothesis that the rational aspects of democratic governments make war among them impossible.

     In his lecture titled “The Nature and Use of Power and its Influence Upon State Goals and Strategies”, Morgenthau compares the nature of power in political and military strategy. He states that it is a strange illusion that “a nation – even a great nation – had a choice between what is called power politics and a foreign policy which is free from the taint of power”2. The wishful thinking of democratic peace theorists can only lead to unpleasant surprises. The realist theory based on the existing state of affairs and the speculation that the desire for power is ingrained in individuals and nations no matter what the circumstances be is capable of foreseeing and addressing disruptions of peace.

     Waltz describes the neorealist responses to the realist theory, as exemplified by Morgenthau’s observations. He points out that “neorealism rejects the assumption that man’s innate lust for power constitutes a sufficient cause of war in the absence of any other”3.  According to Waltz, the seeds of discord are to found both in the unit-level and structural level. He also refers to the systems theory of international politics which considers the international political scenario in a state of anarchy, though not necessarily implying a state of chaos, lacking a unifying ruling force to control the system. He observes that “in an anarchic domain, the source of one’s own comfort is the source of another’s a worry’ and goes on to state that “in an anarchic domain, a state of war exists if all parties lust for power. But so too will a state of war exist if all states seek only to ensure their own safety”4. Morgenthau contrasts the pre-nuclear world’s reactions to instances of conflict with other nations with the nuclear world’s reactions to the same. He refutes the democratic peace theory that glorifies the rational element of democratic states to detain from war. The rationality is based on a fear psychosis and the state of peace can only be a variation of the cold war. Neorealists have a similar view on this, and Waltz refers to the “fear of other states” 5 that leads to common interests among nations that are bent on the flexibility of alignment.

     Morgenthau and Waltz deal with the issues related to the anarchical international political system in a similar manner through their realist and neorealist views vary on the cause and effect exegesis. Drawing on the historical aspects of the Wars through the last century, Morgenthau emphasizes the need for strategic analysis and realist perspective with regard to international relations when it comes to instances of disruptions of peace. Waltz problematises Morgenthau’s basic presumption that the desire for power is innate in human beings and can similarly be analyzed in the case of democratic nations. He suggests a larger, complex layer of the structural and systemic basis for the desire for power, which can be evil by nature. However, both agree that the democratic hypothesis is not sufficient to analyze the contemporary international system which is anarchic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
() Explain the democratic/liberal peace hypothesis. Using elements from Essay, n.d.)
) Explain the democratic/liberal peace hypothesis. Using elements from Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1709343-explain-the-democraticliberal-peace-hypothesis-using-elements-from-realist-theory-and-at-least-two-realist-scholars-in-your-argument-critique-the-logic-and
() Explain the democratic/Liberal Peace Hypothesis. Using Elements from Essay)
) Explain the democratic/Liberal Peace Hypothesis. Using Elements from Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1709343-explain-the-democraticliberal-peace-hypothesis-using-elements-from-realist-theory-and-at-least-two-realist-scholars-in-your-argument-critique-the-logic-and.
“) Explain the democratic/Liberal Peace Hypothesis. Using Elements from Essay”. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1709343-explain-the-democraticliberal-peace-hypothesis-using-elements-from-realist-theory-and-at-least-two-realist-scholars-in-your-argument-critique-the-logic-and.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Democratic Peace Hypothesis and Realist Theory

Democratic Theory Debate

This paper ''Democratic theory Debate'' tells us that the pictures of city, democracy, and citizenship are not just symbols but organizations on the way to which we moreover adjust (or else are continually aggravated to adjust) our judgments and performances concerning the political system.... om Aquinas: The recent democratic outset of the city that came out in the untimely nineteenth-century spoken a fastidious formation of city government, which happens to equivalent simultaneously with democracy and the state....
10 Pages (2500 words) Term Paper

Russian - Ukrainian relations since 1991

This paper describes the events leading up to the break-up of the Soviet Union and how those events left Russian-Ukrainian relations in 1991 at the start of the post-Soviet era.... The study also analyses Russia's foreign policy after 1991.... … For most of the modern era and until 1991, Ukraine was under Moscow's control....
40 Pages (10000 words) Essay

The Relations of Turkey with the European Union

The Europeans countered that Turkey's deficient institutions and practices in democratic and economic spheres disqualified it from the membership.... nbsp; However, according to the so-called Copenhagen regulations, certain guidelines were to be followed by all EU membership candidates including Turkey, which basically revolved around establishing 'Western-style democratic institutions guaranteeing rule of law, individual rights, and minority rights'....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Proposal

Democratic Peace Theory

In that context the democratic peace theory not only directly challenges the validity and efficacy of the alternate political systems, but also the existing accounts of international relations that lay emphasis on the concepts like the strategic common interests and balance of power machinations, while delving on the international relations between salient democratic powers (Newman & Rich 2004, p.... Democratic Peace Theory In a simplistic context, one could ascribe the democratic peace theory as a theory that upholds the fact that the democratic nations seldom engage in war with each other (Schraeder 2002, p....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development

This paper "Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development" deals with the long-term survival of many manufacturing and service organizations that is considered to be inextricably linked to the ability to produce goods and services that meet customers' quality expectations....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Democratic peace theory: a realistic challenge

This essay is a critique of the democratic peace hypothesis.... This essay is a critique of the democratic peace hypothesis.... … the democratic peace theory states that nations which have adopted democracy as a form of governance, are less likely to wage war against each other, because democracy is closer to peace than any other form of governance.... the democratic peace theory states that nations which have adopted democracy as a form of ...
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Peace in World Politics

his paper makes a conclusion that the legality given to liberalist's view of democracy-by-democracy peace theory liberalism has developed to be a basis of violence and intimidation in the world stage.... In fact, realist point out that such propositions are merely idealistic thinking and that results from the ground paints a very different picture.... The idea that back the notion that liberalism can be a force for peace in world politics has aroused a heated debate....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development

This paper "Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development" focuses on the fact that today the long-term survival of many manufacturing and service organizations is considered to be inextricably linked to the ability of these organizations to produce goods.... nbsp;… Thomas and Velthouse (1990) define empowerment "as intrinsic task motivation that manifests itself in four cognitions reflecting an individual's orientation to his or her work roles....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us