What is realism?

The European International Studies Association (EISA) has recently launched a Podcast Series that features specific theoretical traditions or research programs. Vineet Thakur from Leiden University and member of the EISA Board interviewed Stefano Guzzini on two such traditions, realism and geopolitical thought.
 
In this episode, Guzzini shows the variety of realist thought and the many misconceptions about realism. He develops realism’s special role in the establishment of International Relations as a discipline, linking, if unsuccessfully, an ontology of politics, an explanatory theory of power politics and a prudential foreign policy strategy.

Publications mentioned in the podcasts

Stefano Guzzini, Realism in International Relations and International Political Economy: The Continuing Story of a Death Foretold. London, New York: Routledge, 1998.

Stefano Guzzini, The Enduring Dilemmas of Realism in International Relations, European Journal of International Relations, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 533-568.

Stefano Guzzini, Power, Realism and Constructivism. Abingdon: Routledge, 2013.

Stefano Guzzini, “Realist theories and practice”, DIIS Working Paper 2017:8, 22 pp.