Realism and Moralism in International Politics

Abstract

Since its revival with Williams's "In the Beginning Was the Deed", the realist critique of the so-called moralistic methodology of liberal political philosophy has combined methodological and meta-theoretical arguments about the normativity of politics with substantial interventions in debates about domestic social justice and state legitimacy (Williams, Rossi, Jubb). In contrast, there have been far fewer applications of the realist methodology to conceptual, structural and normative questions in international politics (important exceptions include the work of Bell and Sleat). This relative lack of interest is surprising given the obvious “case for kinship” (McQueen) between realist thought in International Relations and Political Theory and the omnipresence of mutual charges of moralism and amorality in many current debates on international politics. Examples include normative controversies about the rights of migrants and refugees, climate change policies, global inequality and the legitimacy of foreign interventions, as well as structural and conceptual questions about the role of power, sovereignty, international law and human rights in international affairs. This panel gathers meta-theoretical, conceptual and normative contributions that apply the insights from the realism vs. moralism debate to these and similar topics in international relations and foreign policy.

Title	Details
International Solidarity: A Realist View	View Paper Details
Political Realism: Method Not Metaethics	View Paper Details
Rights-Protecting Interventionism	View Paper Details