“The Promise of Institutionalist Theory” by Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin and “Six Principles of Political Realism” by Morgenthau are two very different articles that pertain to international politics. In Keohane and Martins article they are mainly coming from a more liberal point of view while in Morgenthau’s article he is more realist. While these two are two very different political ideas I tend to agree with Keohane and Martins article than Wendt.
In Morgenthau’s article he writes about how interest is
defined in terms of power. This is basically saying that countries as a whole
will act on the idea that they will gain power in their actions. This differs
from Keohane and Martins point of view because they believe that states will
act not to gain power but to maintain peace. I agree with Keohane and Martins
point of view because I believe that the reason the modern world is peaceful
with only minor conflicts is because every country is not trying to take over
each other. I believe that it is human instinct to become as powerful as can be
but people need to realize that it is not for the best. I believe that America
could easily become the most powerful country in the world and rule many other
states. I do not believe that it is in their best interest because it would
lead to death and suffering. America needs a way to maintain peace among the
other powerful countries in the world.
I also do not agree with Morgenthau’s principle 4 about
how morality will come after a state surviving. This is a very realist point of
view because it is dealing with a situation that the realist is presented. I do
not agree with this because being moral is always something humans should
follow. I believe that this situation is no different than what caused the
holocaust. Hitler led the people of Germany to believe that the German empire
was not surviving because of Jews and their only solution was to exterminate
them. The people of Germany who were realists and listened to Hitler did not
care that they were killing millions of Jews because it was the only way for
Germany to survive. This a great example of why realism does not work because
many lives were taken for the belief of realism.
I agree with the point you made that if America wanted to take over other states, that it would. Though at this moment, I believe that America is a mix of liberalism and realism. It is liberal in the sense that it is dependent on other countries for things like trade and it has varied interests, but at the same time it is realist because when it sees that North Korea has launched another missile, it is ready to react in order to secure itself. Also, while I do agree with you that Moregenthau's fourth principle is a little wayward, I believe that the Holocaust is the perfect example of this belief that morality will come after a state survives.Today, Germany and its people condemn what happened in the Holocaust because there country has survived a dark time in its history and has learned from its treacherous mistakes.
ReplyDeleteHi Theo! I followed your paper only up until the end- I just want to present a point and get your feedback on it. I agree that the leaders of the Holocaust may have been realists, however I think it's wrong to attribute their success TO realism. Hitler was a man who was talented in the art of manipulation and public speaking. He was able to project his fears onto other folks and through intimidation gained a lot of followers. I would be cautious in calling the whole movement "realist" only because there were so many factors besides realism responsible for Hitler's "success" (and I use that word very, very lightly).
ReplyDeleteYes I agree that Hitler was a great public speaker and so forth and did a great job of manipulation but the whole idea of Hitlers campaign was realism. They were basically a country that wanted to take over the world and would not let any ethical decision stop them.
DeleteI thought this blog raised a lot of really good points. I agree that if the United States wanted to it could take over many countries if they wanted to do so, however, even though they don't, I still consider the U.S. the most powerful nation in the world. While I agree to an extent that Hitler and his followers were realists there is a reason why Hitler tried to keep the Holocaust a secret, from the world and most of his own people. He knew that people, even anti-semites, would find it disgusting and would oppose it. So to say that "The people of Germany who were realist didn't care that they were killing Jews" is too broad. The SS yes, all the citizens, no.
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