The Realist tradition can be traced as far back as the historian Thucydides and his work on the Peloponnesian War in around 431BC between the city states of Athens and Sparta. Thucydides argued that the universal characteristics of human nature were fear, the desire for glory, and the pursuit of self interest. Furthermore, fear of being dominated if one does not dominate is the political motive behind both the acquiring of an empire and, having acquired it, the refusal to give it up. In this sense, Realism has offered timeless wisdom. During the Cold War, International Relations scholars drew parallels between the Peloponnesian War and the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States of America.
Other key contributers to Realism were writers such as Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. According to Machiavelli, the fundamental responsibility of states people is to advance and defend the national interest. For Machiavelli, if the state is not strong, it will be a standing invitation for others to prey upon it. In this sense, the ruler must be a 'lion'. However, this also requires cunning and - if necessary - ruthlessness in the pursuit of self interest: the ruler must also be a fox. Above all, for Machiavelli, the responsible state leader must not operate in accordance with the principles of Christian ethics. Machiavelli sees these moral maxims as the height of political irresponsibility.
One crucial aspect of Realism is its emphasis on state power. Thomas Hobbes suggested that without a state to guarantee the means and conditions of security and to promote welfare, human life is bound to be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' Hobbes described the pre-civil condition as the 'state of nature'. For Hobbes, the escape route from the state of nature was the maintenance of the sovereign state.
All of these contributions to Realism demonstrate a pessimistic view of human nature, a conviction that international relations are necessarily conflictual, and a basic scepticism that there can be progress in international politics.
However, since its classical origins, Realism has evolved into what is known as Neo-Realism. The focus shifted from human nature, to the structure that influences state behaviour. Kenneth Waltz was one of the main contributors to this field of study. Neo-Realism has its methodological origins in 'Behaviouralism'. This is the idea that there is an external and 'real' world in international relations that can be studied objectively and scientifically. One of the main proponents of Waltzian theory is that the international system is anarchic. As a result, states are forced to behave in self-seeking and self-interested ways in order to ensure their survival. However, for Post-Positivsts, Neo-Realism has played the role of priviledging existing power structures such as the state, and even influencing foreign policy.
Other Realist thinkers such as Hans Morgenthau speak of the animus dominandi. This is the human lust for power. The human animus dominandi inevitably brings men and women into conflict with each other. For Hans Morgenthau, there had to be a seperation of private and political ethics. The hear of statecraft is thus the clear headed knowledge that political ethics and private ethics are not the same. However, one can contend that this view, with its roots in Machiavellian thought, has influenced statespeople to behave in certain ways. It is for this reason, that Realism has recieved the critique that it has affected foreign policy in a detrimental way. In this sense, Realism certainly is not a good manual for state practice, but perhaps a necessary one considering the anarchic structure of the international system.
The biggest challenge to Realism is that of the 'Post Positivist' theories that content it supports existing power relations, and power structures. Realism privilidges the state as being the main actor in international relations. Other major challenges include the end of the Cold War and the rise of global civil society and the emergence of transnational relationships. As such, this represents the liberal argument.
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