Compare Classical Realism And Neorealism

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Interestingly, Ferguson (2011, p. 75) describes Frederick the Great as a ruler opposed to the Machiavellian preference for the balancing of power and being instead a ruler in favor of preventive wars. His discussion significantly points to two different types of realism introduced in the class lectures – Classical Realism and Structural Realism (Neorealism). On one hand, Nicolo Machivelli is among thinkers recognized as major writers and contributors to the school of classical realism. Central to the classical realist school are Machivelli’s key concepts of state national interest and political power; he emphasizes that a good politician must take decisions that are merely in the national interest of his state, and at the same time ensure his state’s security and survival. According to Machivelli, a good politician is thus a ruler in search of power and in favor of preventive wars. Frederick the Great of Prussia’s attitude towards diplomacy, on the …show more content…

Rather than focusing only on state’s selfishness and competitiveness, structural realists (neorealists) believe that states enter into alliances with other states (diplomacy) to regulate and keep a check on the power of other alliances and more powerful states. Although the school of structural realism (neorealism) is developed from the classical realist school, there are key differences between these two types of realism. According to Ferguson (2011) and the lectures and other materials of week 1-3, classical realists primarily focus on explaining the nature of man; that is, human nature is aggressive and human aggregates (states) are thus aggressive too. They argue that behaviors of states derive heavily from human nature, and self-centeredness and self-interestedness are presumed to be the fundamental principles of realism. In contrast to this, structural realists (neorealists)

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