GAIC: Realism (August 11)

Recommended content:

1. "Theory in Action: Realism"

2. "Political Realism in International Relations" by W. Julian Korab-Karpowicz.

3. Pages 59-68 of the textbook.

3. Key points:

Key actors	International system & states
View of the Individual	Power-seeking, selfish, antagonistic
View of the state	Power-seeking, unitary actor, following its national interest
View of the international system	Anarchy, stability in a balance-of-power system
Beliefs about change	Low change potential, slow structural change
Major theorists	Thucydides, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Morgenthau, Waltz, Gilpin
Power	Zero-sum game

Activity: 6 Cs about the paragraph by Thucydides, with the question: "How is realism shown in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides?".