Question

In what ways can you criticize Classical Realism?

Answer 1

Classical realism is a theory of international relations established in the post-World War II era that seeks to explain international politics as a result of human nature. The theory is associated with thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes.^[1] Modern thinkers associated with classical realism are Carl von Clausewitz, Hans Morgenthau and Reinhold Niebuhr.^[2]Classical realist thought has since been overshadowed by neorealism after Kenneth Waltz's work became more widely accepted due to the rise of structuralism in North Americaninternational relations scholarship which favored the latter's emphasis on rationality rather than human nature as cause for political conflict

The term "classical realism" was coined by Richard Ned Lebow, a Professor of International Political Theory at the War Studies department of King's College London. In a 2003 book by Lebow, The Tragic Vision of Politics, he extensively discusses the tradition of realism by focusing on three key realist thinkers: Thucydides, Clausewitz, and most importantly, Hans J. Morgenthau, who taught Lebow at the University of Chicago in the 1950s.

Order is a main focus of classical realism. Classical realists argue that order is fragile and created through constant tensions between state nations. Related to this argument is the theory of human reshaping. Human reshaping puts forth that the world can become a 'better' place through incremental changes made by humans through enlightened self-interest. Humans can change their environments only through much difficulty and slowly.