The Typologies of Realism

Abstract

Much more than a single theory, realism is a school of thought containing numerous related branches. In recent years an outpour of debate and exchange within the realist tradition has captured the attention of scholars. Many scholars have attempted to create schemes classifying the different branches and threads of realist thought that have emerged, while others have introduced a wealth of new terminology. Unfortunately, as a result of these efforts, realist concepts have become obfuscated, resulting in much confusion, and ultimately erecting a barrier to intellectual progress in the field. The goal of this article is to help remove this barrier by clarifying the criteria for classifying different approaches to realist thought and presenting a more coherent classification scheme that will enhance the understanding of the relationship between various strands of realist thought. Since the 1980s, a number of new schools of thought, including constructivism, critical theory and post-modernism, have critiqued, and ultimately come to challenge, traditional schools of international relations theory such as realism and liberalism. Yet, as a result of sharp differences with respect to ontology, epistemology and methodology, exchange between these new schools and the more traditional mainstream schools have been quite limited. In stark contrast with this dearth of scholarly exchange across schools of thought, the intellectual debate and exchange of ideas within the realist school have flowered, giving birth to many new branches and sub-branches of realist thought.