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Michael Phillips Structural Realism and the Cold War essay

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Michael Phillips Structural Realism and the Cold War essay
1

Michael Phillips
February 24, 2014
World History

Structural Realism and the Cold War

Though classical and structural realism both fall under the basic realist theory, there is a distinct difference between the two. The evolution of the theory of Realism from classical to structural has allowed it to remain a dominant theory in the discussion of international relation. The general definition of realism is a theory that characterizes international affairs as a power struggle among states and deals greatly with the involvement of conflict and war.1 While classical realism argues that war is a result of corrupt human nature, structural realism states that its catalyst lies in a more tangible anarchic international system.2 This system provides a more perspicuous explanation for the behavior of nation states as a result of the atmosphere in which they exist. Because of this basic foundation, structural realism has survived to become one of the most influential and dominant perspectives over the past decade.3 It gives an in-depth explanation of the nature of power as a tool for survival and also discusses how power is balanced from both an offensive and defensive

1

Walt Stephen, "International Relations: One World Many Theories,"
Foreign Policy
, no. 110 (1998): 29­32, 34­46, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1149275 (accessed February 25, 2014).
2
Mearsheimer, John. “Structural Realism.” International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity. http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/StructuralRealism.pdf. 3
Boutayeb, Saad. "Structural Realism and the English School." Academia.edu. http://www.academia.edu/520857/Structural_Realism_and_the_English_School (accessed May 16, 2014).

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perspective. Structural realism’s explanatory power is clear when applied to the Cold War, as it reveals the catalyst for the US and USSR power struggle, their maximization of state security, and why the Soviet Union eventually collapsed. The separation between structural


Bibliography: http://www.academia.edu/520857/Structural_Realism_and_the_English_Sc hool (accessed May 16, 2014). Rivalries."http://dgibbs.faculty.arizona.edu/sites/dgibbs.faculty.arizon a.edu/files/mr-03_0.pdf (accessed May 16, 2014). History.com Staff, . History, "www.history.com." Accessed February 28, 2014. 27, 2014. May 16, 2014). http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/StructuralRealism.pdf (accessed February 23, 2014). http://www.shmoop.com/causes-of-cold-war/ (accessed February 26, 2014).
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