Contextualising the Syrian Crisis against Realism and Security Competition in the 21st Century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25255/jss.2015.4.2.795.811Keywords:
Realpolitik, state- centric, balance of power, system polarity, Self-HelpAbstract
The objective of this paper is to promote critical engagement with a wide range of theoretical and empirical issues regarding the applicability and relevance of Realism or Realpolitik in the new realities of today’s international politics. It draws on arguments taken from scholars but are reconstructed in a way useful to students of IR. It aims to evaluate the realist claim that international politics revolve around state actors and the pursuit of their national strategic interests in an anarchic international system. To assess this argument, Russian attitude towards the international community’s proposal for a resolution to intervene in the Syrian civil war will be reviewed. This will help to determine the applicability and potency of the core assumptions of Realism in today’s international politics.
Realism may not be a new thinking, but given that war is a recurrent event in world politics, this paper will establish that the Realist paradigm remains one of the most accurate theories for understanding developments in today’s world. This paper argues that as long as lack of global coordination due to individual national security or pride issues remain the bane of the global community, Realism is still relevant in the understanding of international politics in the 21st century.
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References
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Aghayev, E (2012). Historical Background and the Present State of the Russian
Syrian Relations. European Researcher, 35 (11-3); Pp 2066-70
Al Jazeera (2012). US blacklists Syrian rebel group al-Nusra. Available online at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/2012121117048117723.html. Accessed on 05/03/14
Al Jazeera (2013). UN blacklists Syria's al-Nusra Front. Available online at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/05/201353021594299298.html.Accessed on 05/03/14
Arms Control Association, (2014). Chronology of Libya's Disarmament and Relations
with the United States. Available online at: http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/LibyaChronology. Accessed on 24/3/14
Aron, R (1966). Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations. New York:
Doubleday.
Barnett, M (2002). Eyewitness to a genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda.
London: Cornell University
BBC (2003). US names 'coalition of the willing'. Available online at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2862343.stm. Accessed on 24/3/14
BBC (2013). Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition. Available online at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15798218.Accessed on 05/03/14
BBC, (2014). Syria crisis: Russia blocks UN statement on Aleppo attacks. Available
online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25663616. Accessed on 20/2/14
Bloomberg (2011). Russia Warns U.S., NATO Against Military Aid to Syria Protests
After Libya. Available online at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/russia-warns-u-s-nato-against-military-aid-to-syria-protests-after-libya.html. Accessed on 24/02/14
CNN (2011). Gunfire, explosions heard in Tripoli. Available online at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/19/libya.civil.war/. Accessed on 27/02/14
Department of Public Information (2011). Security Council Approves 'No-Fly Zone'
over Libya, Authorizing 'All Necessary Measures' To Protect Civilians in Libya, by a Vote of Ten For, None Against, with Five Abstentions". Available online at: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm. Accessed on 27/02/14
Destexhe, A (1994). The Third Genocide. Foreign Policy, 97 Pp.3-17.
Dewey, A (2004). Motives for Humanitarian Intervention. Remarks to the
International Affairs Symposium Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon
April 5. Available online at: http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/prm/rls/37930.htm. Accessed on 10/03/14
Donnelly, J (2008). "The Ethics of Realism", in Reus-Smit, C and Snidal, D (eds.),
The Oxford Handbook of International Relations, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dunne, T. and Schmidt, B. C. (2008). ‘Realism’ in Baylis, J., Smith, S. and Owens, P.
(eds), The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
European Commission (2013). Syria: EU Bilateral Trade and Trade with the World.
Available online at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113451.pdf.Accessed on 10/03/14
Fox News (2013). Britain bans Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front on terrorism
grounds. Available online at: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/19/britain-bans-syria-al-qaida-linked-nusra-front-on-terrorism-grounds/. Accessed on 05/03/14
George, J (1994). Discourses of Global Politics: A Critical (Re) Introduction to
International Relations. Boulder. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
Gilpin, R (1981). War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Global Security (2014). Second Chechnya War - 1999-2006. Available online at:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/chechnya2.htm.Accessed on 08/4/14
Guzzini, S (2001). The Different Worlds of Realism in International Relations.In
Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 30 (1). pp. 111- 121
Hobbes, T (1985). Leviathan. London: Penguin Classics
Hough, P (2004). Understanding Global Security. London. Routledge.
Inayatullah, N. and Blaney, D (2004). International Relations and the Problem of
Difference. New York. Routledge
Jackson, R and Sorensen, G (1999). Introduction to International Relations: Theories
and Approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Kegley, C. and Wittkopf, E (1995). World Politics: Trend and Transformation. 5th
Edition. New York. St. Martin’s Press
Kolodziej, E (2005). Security and International Relations. Cambridge. Cambridge
University Press
Mansfiedl, P (2010). A History of the Middle East.3rd edition. London: Penguin
Mearsheimer, J (1995). The False Promise of International Institutions. In Brown, M.,
Lynn-Jones, S., and Miller, S. (ed.) The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security. Cambridge; MIT Press
Morgenthau, H (1954). Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace,
2nd ed., New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- (1978). Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace,
5th Revised ed, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- (1985). Politics Among Nations, The struggle for Power and Peace” (6th ed.),
New York: McGraw-Hill
Parsons,C (2011). Obama defends military campaign in Libya. Los Angeles Times.
Available online at: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/28/news/la-pn-obama-libya-web-20110329.Accessed on 04/4/14
Polman, L (2004). We Did Nothing: Why the Truth Doesn’t Always Come Out When
the UN Goes In. London; Penguin Books
Putin, V (2013). A Plea for Caution from Russia: What Putin Has to Say to
Americans about Syria. The New York Times. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html?_r=0.Accessed on 07/04/14
Ray, J. L and Kaarbo,J (2011). Global Politics.10th Edition. Wadsworth: Cengage
Learning
Reuters (2012). Syria Crisis: Russia Tells NATO To Stay Away From Syria.Avilable
online at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/syria-russia-nato_n_1931707.html. Accessed on 27/3/14
Riggs, R. and Plano, J (1988). The United Nations: International Organization and
World Politics. Pacific Grove. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) (2014). Lavrov: International efforts should be
unified to solve crisis in Syria. Available online at: http://sana.sy/eng/21/2014/02/01/525497.htm.Accessed on 13/03/14
Steans, J. and Pettiford, L. (2005). Introduction to International Relations:
Perspectives and Themes, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
The Guardian (2011). NATO to end Libya campaign on 31 October. Available online
at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/22/nato-end-libya-31-october. Accessed on 17/3/14
The Nation (2014). UN marks Rwandan genocide anniversary. Available online at:
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/un-marks-rwandan-genocide-anniversary/.Accessed on 28/02/14
Vasquez, J.A. (1997). The realist paradigm and degenerative versus progressive
research programs: an appraisal of neotraditional research on Waltz's balancing proposition. American Political Science Review, 91 (4), Pp 899–912.
Walzer, M (2000). Just and Unjust Wars, 3rd ed. New York: Basic Books
Walzer, M (2011). The Case Against Our Attack on Libya. New Republic. Available
online at: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/world/85509/the-case-against-our-attack-libya. Accessed on 27/02/14
Wendt, A (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: The social construction of
power politics. International Organization, 46 (2), Pp. 391-425
Wendt, A (1999). Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Wight, M (1995). Power Politics. London: Leicester University Press
Zehfuss, M (2002). Constructivism in International Relations: The politics of realty.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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Published
2015-04-01
How to Cite
Amaraegbu, D. A. (2015). Contextualising the Syrian Crisis against Realism and Security Competition in the 21st Century. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&Amp;RJ-JSS), 4(2), 795–811. https://doi.org/10.25255/jss.2015.4.2.795.811
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