Politics
Stephen M. Walt
The Realist’s Guide to International Politics
“International politics is a self-help world.” The international situation seen from the cold realist perspective
A lecture from Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard, the superstar of realist school of international relations
Lesson Plan
- Lesson Length : 15 Lessons ㆍ 1 hours 27 miutes
- Language : 한국어, English, 简体中文, Spanish, French
The international landscape through the lens of realism.
The cracks of globalism are revealing themselves, nationalism is on the rise, and there is a war in Ukraine. All these factors and more are leading to the fracture of the current world order, which has been in place for 30 years since the end of the Cold War. As the new power struggle for global hegemony begins, world-renowned political scientist Stephen Walt emphasizes that we must look at the world through a realist's perspective.
The international system is anarchy; therefore, countries must grow stronger to help themselves through open diplomacy and compromise. Walt emphasizes that the United States, the once-guardian of the international community, will play an important role. He adds that the US must be wary of twisted ideals, which depose problematic regimes under the banner of safeguarding liberalism, and the ambition to recreate the world to its liking. He also says that the US should maintain normal relations with all Middle Eastern countries and take an honest look at China, the power of Asia, though it may be uncomfortable to do so.
Walt advocates for “offshore balancing” in foreign policy, which focuses primarily on the balance of power in key regions instead of excessive interference. Contemplate the rapidly changing international landscape and the new world order with the five episodes of “The Realists’ Politics” by Stephen Walt, a world-class political scientist.
Full Bio
Stephen M. Walt
- Professor of international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School
- Editorial board member of International Security, a journal on international affairs
- Columnist at Foreign Policy, a journal on foreign policy and international affairs
- Former academic dean of the Harvard Kennedy School (2002-2006)
- Former consultant for the U.S. Institute of Defense Analyses
- Former consultant for the Center for Naval Analyses
Stephen Walt is an American political scientist who teaches international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and has been focusing on political realism for nearly 40 years. Expanding upon the idea of a “balance of power” that the existing realism theory emphasized, Walt suggested the "balance of threat" theory, which posits that states form alliances not against powerful countries but those that are threats.
He says that the US’s position as the global superpower is becoming unstable because of faulty foreign policy and advocates that it return to its “offshore balancing” strategy. He writes columns analyzing the international situation for Foreign Policy, the prominent international relations journal, and is the author of The Origins of Alliances, Revolution and War, and The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy.
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