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1. Introduction
Neo-Realism is a school of Realist thinking, which is also known as Structural
Realism. The neo-realist school began with the writings of Kenneth Waltz. In
1979, Waltz wrote one of the classics of international relations theory; Theory of
International Politics. Waltz tried to provide a scientific basis to the realist
thinking. In the cold war environment Waltz highlighted the value of
understanding the systemic constraints upon the behaviour of the actors of
international politics. Waltz explained that the bipolar system prevailing during
the cold war meant stability in the system and hence relative peace. Stephen Walt is
another prominent neo-realist thinker, who modified the balance of power
argument of Waltz and developed balance of threat theory. Walt explained that
the perceived threat is responsible for the alliance behaviour of states. In the
post cold war era the most influential realist thinker is John Mearsheimer. John
Mearsheimer countered K.Waltz on some grounds and propounded his own
variant of structural realism. He called his variant of realism as offensive realism.
Unlike Waltz, Mearsheimer believed that all states want to hegemonize the
international system. Today neo-realism is the most dominant theory of
international politics. Most of the other new theoretical schools of international
relations begin as a response to the argument of neo realist school.

2. Neo- Realism: The Emergence

Hans J. Morgenthau (1904–1980) is credited with developing realism into a
coherent theory of international politics in the post world war II period. His main
work, Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (1948) became the
cornerstone of realist thinking. By 1950s the realist school of thought led by
Morgenthau was the predominant theory of international politics. With the rise of
Realism, there also came a barrage of criticisms from different directions.

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By the beginning of 1960s, the influence of scientific thinking in international

relations was palpable. There were scholars who were engaged in making the study
of international relations more scientific. By the mid-1960s, the majority of
American students in international relations were trained in quantitative
research, game theory, and other new research techniques of the social sciences

These scholars severely criticized the classical realism as „wisdom literature‟,

without any scientific foundations. For example Morgenthau‟s idea of objective
reality based on human nature was understood as highly unscientific. On the
other hand by the beginning of 1970s there was a general acknowledgment
about the growing importance of non-state actors in
international politics. This acknowledgment led to the
emergence of pluralism and neo-liberalism in intentional relations. Keohane and
Nye with their idea of Complex interdependence were criticizing classical realism
for their over dependence on the centrality of state. Under these conditions, the
defense of realism came from Kenneth Waltz. Waltz reformulated the ideas of
realism in the light of major criticisms. This led to the beginning of the new
stream of realist thinking, known as neo-realism. The term neo-realism and
structural realism is used interchangeably. However some scholars claim that the
appropriate term to use is structural realism. Because neo-realism signifies that
there is major point of departure from the classical realist theory. And structural
realist theory is not a break- away faction of classical realism rather a
continuation of classical realism. Despite this argument in most of the writings both
the terms are used interchangeably.

3. Structural Realism: Kenneth Waltz

“Structural realism aims to set aside those features of international relations that
depend on the character of the actors or the nature of their interactions in order
to

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highlight the constraining impact of the structure of the international system”

(Donnelly, 2013;37). So, the international power politics in rooted not in human
nature but in the structure of the international system. Some of the important
assumptions of structural realism are:
1. States are the rational actors in the international system. They always want to
maximize benefits and minimize losses.
2. The anarchic structure of the international system is the foremost important
determinant of state‟s behaviour.
3. In the anarchic international system, there is no central authority to impose
the rules of the game.
4. Under these circumstances, states are unaware about others intentions (security
dilemma).
5. Survival is the most critical concern as a result of the anarchic structure of the
international system.
6. Power is not measured by the outcome, rather it is the combined capabilities
of a state.
7. The most important question for stability and peace in international system is
balancing power in the system

K. Waltz argues that the structure of the international system has three defining
features-
A.Organizing principle,
B.Differentiation of units
C.Distribution of capabilities.

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According to Waltz there are two types of organizing principle of political

structures; hierarchy and anarchy. Hierarchy is the organizing principle of domestic
politics, where units of the political structure stand „above‟ or „below‟. So there is a
relationship of authority and subordination between different units. On the other
hand in international politics, the lack of a central authority means the sovereign
units are not hierarchically organized.

Waltz argues that there is no functional differentiation among the units of

international system. “ States are alike in all basic functional respects- i.e, in
spite of their different cultures or ideologies or Constitution or histories, they all
perform the same basic tasks. All states have to collect taxes conduct foreign
policy and so on” ( Jackson and Sorenson, 2013;80). Now in the anarchic
structure of the international system, if there are no functional differentiation
between the units,then how the units look different. The reason is provided by
the third element of the political structure, i.e distribution of capabilities. If we
wish to understand international politics (war, peace, alliances, Balance of power)
we need to focus on the distribution of capabilities in the international system.
Waltz says that the “ state units of the international system are distinguished
primarily by their greater or lesser capabilities for performing similar tasks, the
structure of the system changes with changes in the distribution of capabilities
across system‟s units” (Waltz, 1979;97). For example,if there are two Great
powers in the system the structure of the system is bipolar. So the structural
realists seek to define the international system according to the number of great
powers in the system.

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In an anarchic structure, war is always a possibility. But at most of the times

wars can be avoided by Balance of Power. K. Waltz believes that a bipolar system is
more stable to provide peace as it had happened during the cold war times.
According to waltz, in an anarchic international system, Bandwagoning could be
disastrous.

“in hierarchic political orders, actors tend to jump on the bandwagon, of a

leading candidate or a recent victor, because loosing does not place their
security in jeopardy. Bandwagoners attempt to increase their gains ( or
reduce their losses) by siding with the stronger party. In anarchy,
however, Bandwagoning courts disaster by strengthening someone who
later may turn on you.The power of others especially great powers- is
always a threat when there is no government is turn to protection.
Balancers attempt to reduce their risk by opposing a stronger or rising
power”
(Donnelly, 2013;38).

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4. Classical Realism and Structural Realism: the difference

1. In his book theory of International Politics, K. Waltz argues that there are two
types of theories. One reductionist and other systemic. The reductionist theories
prefer bottom-up explanation. These theories focus on the units of the system
(individual or state in international politics) and try to understand and explain the
whole. On the other hand the systemic theories provide external explanation as
the unit level explanation is insufficient. Hence the systemic theories take into
consideration the impact of structure on the behaviour of the units (for example
foreign policy). The classical realist theory can be called the reductionist theory
and the structural realist theory is systemic theory.
2. The classical Realists like Morgenthau assume that „statesmen think and act in
terms of interest defined as power‟. So power becomes an end in itself for the states
to pursue. On the other hand for structural realists, power is a means which
provides a “state a place or position in the international system and that shapes the
states behavior ” (Lamy, L. Steven, 2005; 208).
3. Both the realists and the structural realists agree that there is an environment
of anarchy in international politics. However for “ realists, anarchy is a condition
of the system, and states react to it according to their size, location, domestic
politics and leadership qualities. In contrast, neo-realists suggests that anarchy
defines the system. So all units experience same constraints presented by
anarchy” ( Lamy, L.Steven, 2005;209).
The most important difference between classical realism and structural realism
lies in the fact that K. Waltz‟s do not refer to human nature even once in his
book. And on the other hand classical realists like Thucydides, Machiavelli,
Hobbes and most importantly for Morgenthau human nature is essential to
understand politics. In his first principle of political realism Morgenthau clearly
says that unchanging human nature is the key to understand politics.

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4. John Mearsheimer’s offensive Realism:

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John J. Mearsheimer ( born December 1947) is one of the most influential international
relations scholars, who is still alive. He works at University of Chicago, United States of
America. an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. After K.
Waltz, he tried to reformulate the relaist

John Mearsheimer is another important structural realist. There are some

differences between Waltz‟s structural realism and Mearsheimer‟s. Waltz‟s
realism is called, defensive realism and Mearsheimer‟s realism is called
offensive realism. Both of them basically differ in answering the question, how
much power is enough for states? For Waltz continuous power maximization may
lead to system imbalance. Hence, hegemony is not a goal to be pursued by a great
power. Because it will be counterproductive. On the other hand Mearsheimer
argues that states should pursue as much power as possible. The state should
have overwhelming power to ensure its survival. Here we will briefly discuss
Mearsheimer‟s structural realism.

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Mearsheimer begins with the fundamental question; why states compete for power.
He provides five assumptions to answer this question in a structural realist way.
These five assumptions taken together answers the question. The five assumptions
given by Mearsheimer are :
i) There is an anarchic international environment, and the Great powers are the
main actors in this international system.
ii) Each state has the power to inflict some harm on its neighbour.
iii) there is no way available to the states to know the intentions of the other states.
iv) Under the above mentioned condition, survival is the primary goal of every
state.
v) The states are rational actors. It means that every state wants to maximize
his chances of survival and minimize the chances against survival. And the state
is capable of making strategy to do the same.
Reading the above five assumptions together creates a scenario where the great
powers always behave like a revisionist states and intend to gain as much
relative power as possible in the self help environment.

The next question that Mearsheimer attempts to answer is how much power is
enough for states. As mentioned above this is the key question that sets
Mearsheimer apart from K.Waltz. Waltz and other defensive realists do not
support the pursuit of hegemony by any state. Waltz wants states to pursue an
„appropriate amount of power‟ for survival. There are three basic reasons behind
this belief.
1. First, when a major power will try to become a hegemon,all other powers will join
together to stop that major power. And at the end that major power will be
either destroyed or made more insecure.
2. Second, the defensive realists argue that defense is always a better strategy
than offense and a offensive major power will end up fighting a „a series of losing
wars‟.
3. Third, the defensive realists say that even if there are chances of conquests, the

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costs of the conquest far outweighs the benefits of the conquest. Therefor, being
offensive for a major power means inviting a lot of trouble and punished by the
system. So for “K. Waltz the anarchic structure of world politics propels states
not to maximize their share of world power but rather to be first and foremost
concerned with preventing relative losses- in the words of Joseph Grieco, states
act as defensive positionalists” (Toft, 2005, ).
Offensive realists take an opposite view on this issue. For offensive realists the
condition of anarchy pressurizes states to maximize their relative power without
those concerns mentioned by the defensive realists. The offensive realists
counter the above three arguments of the defensive realists.
1. Firsts, the offensive realists argue that balancing against an aggressor is
inefficient and even the states sometimes adopt the strategy of buck-passing
instead of joining a balancing coalition
2.Second, about the offence-defence balance, the “historical record shows that
sides that initiate war wins more often than not” (Mearsheimer, 830
3.Third, the cost of the war may be recovered from the vanquished territories by
various means.
Hence, given these reasons the major powers will ultimately like to be a
hegemon. Mearsheimer argues that “the past behaviour of the great powers has
been more in accordance with the predictions of the offensive rather than
defensive realism. During the first half of the twentieth century, there were two
world wars in which three great powers attempted and failed to gain regional
hegemony: imperial Germany, imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. The second
half of that century was dominated by the cold war, in which the USA and the
Soviet Union engaged in an intense security competition that came close to blows
in the Cuban Missile Crisis” (Mearsheimer, 2009; 84).
Another difference between defensive realists and offensive realists arises
from the fact that at many times the great powers behave in contradiction to the
structural realist theory. The defensive realist argue that those state behaviours are
non-rational behaviours and can be explained by a separate theory of foreign
policy. So the defensive realists essentially employ non-structural logic to explain
some events of international politics. On the other hand there is no separate
theory of foreign policy for offensive realists to explain such behaviours of
great powers. Hence the offensive realists accept that states do behave
sometimes in certain ways where the theory fails to explain their behaviour.

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The next question that Mearsheimer addresses is How states get power? We
have already understood that in Mearsheimer‟s view the global hegemony is the
ultimate aim of any great power. However, there are tactical difficulties in achieving
global hegemony as the world is far apart and global power projection across the
oceans are too difficult. In this scenario, the state aim becomes regional
hegemony. Therefore, the focus of Mearsheimer‟s thinking is regional level. A
major power in pursuit of hegemony adopts two types of strategies; one direct
set of strategies to gain power and other indirect set of strategies to check other
aggressors.

State Strategies
Strategies for gaining power
1. War- principle way, may be efficient but costly.
2. Blackmail- cost efficient but ineffective against greatness
3. Bait and bleed- cost efficient but difficult to bail rivals into conflict.
4. Bloodletting- cost efficient but risk of exposure.
Strategies for checking aggressors
1. Balancing- efficient but costly, formation slow, hampered by costs, action
problems
2. Buck-passing- cost efficient but risky if the buck-catcher fails or succeeds too
well.
If all the great powers aspires to be a hegemon, then is the great power war
inevitable? Mearsheimer argues that “ there will always be a struggle between
nation-states for power and domination in the international system. There has
always been conflict over power. And there is nothing that anyone can do prevent it.
This is why the title of one of his books is The Tragedy of Great Power Politics”
( Jackson and Sorenson, 2013;85)

6. Criticism of Structural realism

Neo-realism or waltz structural realism attracted criticism from the start, after the
theory of international politics was published:  Neo-realism fails to accurately
account for issues like wars, avoidance of wars, power balancing, power seeking,
death of states, arms races, alliance formations, security competition etc. as it sees
war as inevitable because anarchy cannot be avoided.  The subalterns criticize neo-
realism for excluding the Third World when it comes to International Relations. They
argued that it ignores the state behavior, dominant concerns & causes of conflicts in
the Third World & considers it to be weak and militarily & economically dependent
on the external benefactors.  Neo-realism theory highlights security as the main
objective of any state thus states in trying to maximize their power get over
excitedabout all the power they have and this leads to an increase in their interests
and also geographical expansion.  The subalterns criticize neo-realism as it
suggests that it is only the external forces that influence the state behavior.
However, it is both the internal and external forces that influence the state behavior
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in maintaining international relations.  Some of its tenets such as its assumption of

rationality among states has some contradictory concepts – the idea of seizing
maximum power & power balancing by states has never been absolutely clear.

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DIFFRENCE BTW CLASSICAL AND NEO LIBERALISM

1. Focus on Human Nature: Classical realism emphasizes the role of human nature in
shaping state behavior, while neo-realism focuses more on the structure of the
international system.
2. State Behavior: Classical realism argues that states are primarily motivated by power and
self-interest, while neo-realism suggests that states are driven by the need to survive in an
anarchic international system.
3. Unit of Analysis: Classical realism focuses on the individual state as the primary unit of
analysis, while neo-realism emphasizes the structure of the international system and the
distribution of power among states.
4. Power: Classical realism views power as a means to achieve security and dominance,
while neo-realism sees power as a means to ensure survival and maintain a balance of
power.
5. International Cooperation: Classical realism is skeptical of the possibility of
international cooperation, as it believes that states are primarily driven by self-interest.
Neo-realism acknowledges the potential for cooperation but highlights the constraints
imposed by the anarchic structure of the international system.
6. Role of Morality: Classical realism downplays the role of morality in international
relations, arguing that states prioritize their own interests over ethical considerations.
Neo-realism also tends to focus more on the strategic calculations of states rather than
moral considerations.
7. Change in the International System: Classical realism suggests that change in the
international system is driven by shifts in the balance of power and the actions of
individual states. Neo-realism, on the other hand, emphasizes the structural constraints of
the international system as the main driver of change.
8. Security Dilemma: Neo-realism places significant emphasis on the security dilemma,
which refers to the situation where states' efforts to increase their own security can
inadvertently lead to increased insecurity for other states. Classical realism acknowledges
the security dilemma but does not give it as much prominence.
9. Role of International Institutions: Classical realism is skeptical of the effectiveness of
international institutions in managing conflicts and promoting cooperation. Neo-realism
recognizes the potential role of institutions but argues that they are ultimately shaped by
the distribution of power among states.
10. Approach to Analysis: Classical realism tends to rely more on historical analysis and
case studies to understand state behavior. Neo-realism, on the other hand, emphasizes
theoretical models and quantitative analysis to explain patterns of behavior in the
international system.

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