Neorealism and Its Critics This pape

This paper will briefly critique the book, Neorealism and Its Critics, edited by Robert Keohane. The first part of this essay will present the basic idea of the book: the neorealist theory of international relations, as formulated by Kenneth Waltz. The second part of the paper will briefly discuss the critical essays examining this theory. The third part of the paper will criticize the structure of the book as glossing over some of stronger criticisms of the theory.

Neorealism is a systemic theory of international politics and relations between states. It grew out of the musings and practices of some of the most famous American internationalists of the Twentieth Century, such as George F. Kennan, Walter Lippmann, and Hans Morgenthau. These individuals saw the events during and after the Second World War as the signalling the ascendancy of "power politics." They argued that the "utopianism." "legalism," or "idealism" of the liberal theorists did not accurately reflect the reality of international affairs. Thus, the pursuit of this liberal philosophy by the United States in the international policy arena could lead to no productive results.

Although they argued the virtues of "political realism," these "realists" were unable to conceive of a systemic theory which would encompass the realism ideals. This task was undertaken by Kenneth Waltz. Unlike many of the realists, Waltz focused upon the competitive and anarchic nature o

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Approximate Word count = 1089
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)