Question

Liberalism and realism, the foundation for neoliberalism and neorealism theories of international relations, begin with a fundamental assumption about the nature of human beings and then draw conclusions about the behavior of states in the international system. Liberalism believes that humans are inherently good, while realism (and Marxism) believes that humans are inherently evil. From these assumptions, they draw conclusions about the prospect of war and peace in the international system. Which theory do you think is better at capturing international politics? In other words, which theory is better at explaining world politics? In your answer draw on the readings and lecture notes, do not just state opinions without ground it in facts.

Answer 1

Answer- Realism is the theory which is better at capturing international politics as it emphasizes the nation and the state and also, makes a rather broad assumption that every nation-state is simply motivated by only national interests or national interests that are conveniently disguised or masked as "moral concerns". This stands exceptionally true in the case of international politics as each nation is trying to succeed through sympathy and fraud.