Discuss realism and liberalism. Which perspective provides a more complete account of international politics?
What will be an ideal response?
The ideal answer should include:
1. Realism and liberalism are paradigms of international politics. Realism assumes that states, like people, are naturally disposed to base their behavior on self-interest, and the core of this interest is survival. Realism focuses on the security dilemma: There is no supreme authority, no transborder institution, and no international rules that will necessarily protect the state from predatory behavior by other actors in the international system. As such, states muse pursue power and rely on self-help. This makes cooperation rare.
2. Liberalism sees cooperation as not only possible but also natural. From the perspective of liberalism, states can have multiple goals, and aggressive, power-maximizing behavior is not inevitable. While every state wants to survive, states also might take actions in the politics across borders that support other values, such as economic prosperity, political stability, peace, or the spread of democracy. In other words, a realist world is a zero-sum game where, for someone to win, somebody else has to lose. Liberalism views the world as a positive-sum game, where multiple actors can win at the same time.
3. Which perspective provides a more complete account of international politics? Answers will vary. For example, one could argue that during times of war, realism will explain the events better, whereas during peace, liberalism might prove more useful.
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