Neoclassical Realism in International Relations

international and political journal

Authors

  • Assistant Professor Adel Abdul Hamza Thgeel

Keywords:

Neo-Classical Realism, Structural Realism, Foreign Policy, International System, Structural Incentives, International Relations Theory.

Abstract

Neoclassical realism is a theory and approach to foreign policy analysis that combines structural realism by studying the structure of the international system (such as anarchy, the distribution of relative power, and the prevalence of uncertainty), and classical realism by studying the domestic structure (such as state-society relations, the nature of the domestic political system, its leaders, perceptions and perceptions, extractive mobilization, strategic culture, etc., in shaping and formulating its foreign policies and behavior in the international system), to understand the behavior of states and their choices. Therefore, neoclassical realists reject the insistence of structural realists that structural incentives and pressures directly affect the behavior of states. Instead, they assume that states respond to the constraints and opportunities of the international system in conducting their foreign policies, through unit-level factors (domestic structure). They therefore believe that structural influences on the foreign policy behavior of states are neither linear nor immediate, but indirect and complex, and that decision-makers are caught in a game of two levels: threats and opportunities of the international structure, and pressures of the domestic structure. Thus, the real contribution of neoclassical realism in the field of international relations is its success in integrating external and internal variables to explain the external behavior of states by bridging the gap between structural realism and local factors, and providing a more comprehensive explanation of the behavior of states in the international system under three variables: the distribution of power in the structure of the international system (the independent variable), local structural factors and their interactions (the mediating variable), and foreign policy decisions and outcomes (the dependent variable).

Additional Files

Published

2024-10-22

How to Cite

Thgeel, A. P. A. A. H. . (2024). Neoclassical Realism in International Relations: international and political journal . The International and Political Journal, (60), 203–240. Retrieved from https://ipj.uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/index.php/political/article/view/354