PTSD

realising realism rocks my canoe

As I sit in front of my computer at 1am on a Friday, after having read quite a few articles about Realism and Hegemony (It's "Realism week" here at World Politics Central), I am reminded of just how much I actually agree with Realists. Also, how much they are slagged off in the world of International Relations, often for things they would never have agreed with.

Read this: "Realists are often accused of disliking democracy and even of being anti-democratic. This is a bogus charge. Every realist I know would be thrilled to see Iraq turned into a thriving democracy. Realists, however, are well aware of the difficulty of spreading democracy, especially by military means. They also understand that even if the enterprise is successful, that is no guarantee that peace will break out. Democracies as well as non-democracies like having nuclear deterrents, and both kinds of states support terrorism when it suits their interests." (Mearsheimer, at a talk in Germany in 2005)

Reminds me that I need to write up on his and Walt's performance a couple of weeks ago.

Labels: democracy-promotion, Mearsheimer, realism, World Politics

posted by Priya @ 12:49 AM