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What are the most important similarities and differences between
Morgenthau's neoclassical realism and Waltz's structural realism?
While it is common for International Relations scholars to talk of realism as a
singular model, there are a number of different and competing realist theories
...
Morgenthau’s neo-classical realism and Kenneth Waltz’s structural realism are
among two of the most prominent
...
It must be noted however that neo-classical realism and
structural realism both maintain their roots in classical realism, evident in their
shared assumptions of international politics that are characteristic of realist thought
...
It is on the foundation of these shared,
core realist tenets that Morgenthau and Waltz are able to arrive at different
conclusions, and consequently the issues of contention are incredibly similar
...

Morgenthau and Waltz share a fundamental assumption about international
politics that is echoed in all realist thought; they both characterise it as a continuous
struggle for power between states
...
” The concept of power
has always been closely associated with realist scholars, and while all schools of IR
theory talk of power, it is no more identified with a theory than with realism
...
As John Mearsheimer notes, “calculations
about power lie at the heart of how states think about the world around them” (2001
cited Schmidt, 2005: 523)
...
In Politics Among Nations, Morgenthau (1954: 4) declared that
“international politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power”, and that the
acquisition of power is always the immediate aim for states as it is the most effective
measure to guarantee their survival (Schmidt, 2005)
...
Similarly, Waltz (1979: 113) writes in Theory of
International Politics that “international politics is the realm of power, of struggle,
and of accommodation”
...

Reflecting the orthodox realist view, through their empirical analysis
Morgenthau and Waltz are concerned only with how the world actually is, rather
than how it ought to be; the basic nature of inter-state relations being fixed and
unchanging
...
” Realism thus
aims at “the realisation of the lesser evil rather than of the absolute good” (Ibid: 5)
...

Understanding international politics is thus carefully linked with the facts to be
understood
...
Waltz aimed to provide a theoretical account of how the world
works in reality and therefore can be used for peaceful means (Donnelly, 2013)
...
If conflict is inevitable between states,
policies seeking to avoid war commonly lead to unintended outcomes
...

In addition, Morgenthau’s and Waltz’s theories of realism mutually contend
that states are rational actors rather than moral agents
...
The doctrine of raison d’etat (reason of
state) holds that “where international relations are concerned, the interests of the
state predominate over all other interests and values” (Haslam 2002, cited Donnelly
2013: 51)
...
As Waltz argues, under anarchy, states
cannot afford to behave morally, as this requires the existence of an effective

government that would deter aggression and punish illegal state action
...
Like
Waltz, Morgenthau devotes much attention to the conflict between power and
morality in Politics Among Nations, arguing that “realism maintains that moral
principles cannot be applied to the actions of states in their abstract universal
formulation” (Morgenthau, 1954: 10)
...
A government’s primary
obligation according to Morgenthau, is to the interests of the national society it
represents
...
The
corresponding foreign policy is one that is not beyond ethical or normative limits,
nor is it dictated by the principles of morality (Donnely, 2013: 52)
...
National societies give
substantial meaning to universal moral principles as they provide “concrete
standards for individual action” and achieve a “modicum of order and “minimum of
moral values” (Morgenthau, 1951 cited Smith, 1986: 155)
...
States have a paradoxical ethical
obligation to be selfish (Smith, 1986)
...

While Morgenthau and Waltz characterise international politics as a struggle
for power, they reach this conclusion through contrasting assumptions
...
Morgenthau (1954: 4) identifies this as his first principle of political realism,
stating that “politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have
their roots in human nature
...
” Like classical theorists
Thucydides and Machiavelli, Morgenthau attributes the state’s pursuit of power to
the diabolical human urge to dominate others
...
While the struggle for power takes very
different forms in the domestic and anarchic international realm, politics is

nevertheless still reducible to the pursuit of power based on two distinct human
drives: survival and animus dominandi, the desire to dominate
...

Waltz concurs with Morgenthau that international politics is characterised by
a continuous struggle for power, but attributed this not to human nature but rather
anarchy of the international system
...
In Man, the State and War, Waltz dismissed what he called ‘third image
thinkers’ who proposed that “the locus of the important causes of war is found in the
nature and behaviour of man” (1954: 16)
...
States
must provide for their own security, and in doing so acquire a sufficient amount of
power
...
Waltz maintained that political structures are defined
by their ordering principles, differentiation of functions and distribution of
capabilities
...
Functional differentiation between units is largely
eliminated by anarchy, requiring every state to arrive at a position to defend itself
...
If human nature is
the sole cause of conflict and wars between states, it must also must be the cause of
periods of peace
...
Irrespective, though their
explanations as to why states pursue power is different, Morgenthau and Waltz both

begin from the same fundamental concept regarding the nature of states, that they
are power seeking
...
Waltz aimed to distance his theory from
Morgenthau and other neo-classical theorists who pay close attention to philosophic
interpretation rather than theoretical explanation
...
Following the behaviouralist revolution, Waltz’s analysis necessitated
a shift beyond the assumptions about human nature that are impossible to observe
and verify
...

Morgenthau, on the other hand, believed international politics should be studied as
more of an art than a science
...
Morgenthau
instead sought to “provide a map for understanding the landscape of international
politics” (Schmidt, 2005: 536)
...
For Waltz and other structural realists, a general theory of
international relations cannot be constructed based on concepts as ambiguous as
power and human history (Ibid: 536)
...

A further difference between Morgenthau’s neo-classical realism and Waltz’s
structural realism is in the way they conceptualise power and how states behave
under anarchy
...
Morgenthau was of
the view that a multipolar system is more stable, whereas for Waltz a bipolar system
is more stable (Feng and Ruizhuang, 2006)
...
Morgenthau can be viewed in this

particular context as a power maximiser in that he asserts that the acquisition of
power is an end in itself, while there are limits to the physical selfishness of man, the
desire for power is limitless (Schmidt, 2005)
...
Waltz
by contrast is a security maximiser, asserting that power is sought by states as a
means to an end
...
History has shown the destructive effects born by states that have pursued
the expansion of power to the extremes
...
Power is merely a means for survival in the
anarchic system (Feng and Ruizhuang, 2006)
...
The arguments
that Morgenthau and Waltz offer to explain why states strive for power are not
fundamentally different, they simply place greater emphasis on the assumption
neglected by the other theorist
...
Neither egoism nor
anarchy, two core premises of realist theory, are absolutely denied by Morgenthau or
Waltz as imperatives of power politics
...
Waltz
may have actively attempted to distance his structural realism from Morgenthau’s
neo-classical realism, but the fact that they share their roots with the traditional
model demands that the two concepts must be studied within a holistic framework,
with frequent reference to the other
...


Bibliography
Donnelly, J
...
et al
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Basingstoke: Pelgrave Macmillan, 32-56
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and Ruizhuang, Z
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Chinese Journal of
International Politics, 1 (1), 109-134
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and Sorensen, G
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Oxford: Oxford University Press
...
J
...
New York: Alfred A
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Schmidt, B
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(2005) Competing Realist Conceptions of Power
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Smith, M
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(1986) Realist Thought from Weber to Kissinger
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Waltz, K
...
(1954) Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis
...

Waltz, K
...
(1979) Theory of International Politics
...




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