Theory of International Politics by Kenneth N.WALTZ Essay

Theory of International Politics by Kenneth N.WALTZ - Essay Examplemake few claim to being theoretically important to construct a speculation of international government activity that remedies the defects of present theories (p.1).On this basis, in Chapter 1, waltz addresses pre-existing speculation pertaining to the correlation between laws and international behaviour. Whilst he acknowledges that legal compliance and laws may provide a correlation to state behaviour and international politics, Waltz feels that is theory that explains them and to this end attempts to reconstruct mere realism through a somewhat scientific approach.On this basis, Waltzs book seeks to go beyond the classic realist position of politics in terms of state characteristics and state interaction with each other and he argues that the idea that international politics can be thought of as a system with a precisely defined structure is neorealisms fundamental departure from traditional realism.Therefore Wal tzs central theory of neorealism in international politics is underpinned by Waltzs proposition that the system of international politics is inherently dependent on a system of anarchy. This system of anarchy according to Waltz effectively creates the international order of hierarchy, which is further defined by states who are unitary demythologized actors on the one hand and rational actors on the other.To this end, Waltzs discussion of the Cold War, highlights his propensity towards viewing the international political order from a systemic perspective as opposed to considering the intentions of individual states and human behaviour, which is arguably the inherent weakness of the book in context of contemporary international politics.For example, in focusing on the international politics as a whole state system as opposed to individual state level factors, Waltz avoids assumptions about human nature and morality and power in international politics. Waltzs neo-realist paradigm prop oses that the central factor in international politics is