International Relations By Joshua S. Goldstein Analysis

Introduction
International relations written by Joshua S. Goldstein is an alluring book for the people who have interest in international relations and who want to know what is IR or why and how countries interact with each other on international level. Joshua Goldstein himself is one of the well-known writer who has firm grip over international relations. In this book he has explained almost all aspects of international relations and students after reading this will have a clear idea about what is really hidden behind the term international relations. The chapter selected for review is “Realist theories” and subtopic is Realism. The purpose of selecting realism for review
Realism basically evolved or emerged in reaction to idealism. Idealists were of the view that power is not the only tool in international relations rather they believe international law, morality and international organizations are the core values. Idealism was at its peak during World War 1 and World War 2. As a result of failure of idealism to stop the German, Italian and Japanese aggression in the 1930’s the concept of realism was introduced. Classical realists have given their opinion about how to ensure survival and security in a dangerous world as Sun Tzu said that how realism will ensure survival in a dangerous world where your enemies are fully armed and dangerous to you. Thucydides reflected on the Peloponnesian war that the Greek city states were unequal in terms of power during the war so if one wants to ensure survival then they should accept the inequality of power and plan their strategies according to it. Machiavelli says that survival of states depend on the powers of their rulers so the rulers must be brave like lion and clever like a fox. Thomas Hobbes talked about the “state of nature” he is of the view that if there is no government to handle the matters of people then people will themselves get united and make a state which will ensure
The writer has beautifully explained the term realism that what it is and why one should learn it. After reading the chapter one can have a clear idea about why it is important to learn realism and how it is practiced by different states. He also has given the history of realism that when and how it emerged and what the classical realists say about it. There are some flaws too in the chapter like he has used some terms like Peloponnesian war and U.S invasion of Iraq and he has not explained them. The people for whom international relations is their first experience have no idea about these terms so it was better if he had briefly explained these terms so that the readers could not find any difficulty in completely understanding the text.
(Aneek Chatterjee) as the writer Aneek Chatterjee in his book international relations today has briefly explained the term Peloponnesian war that it was a competition of dominance or power among the Greek city states. He also explained the term “rule of jungle” briefly so that the readers can understand the terms which would in understanding the