The Retreat from the Real: Kenneth Waltz and the International System

Abstract

This chapter examines the emergence of Neorealist theory and demonstrates the transvaluation of the Realist tradition in the development of Neorealism. I investigate the origins of the concepts and the theoretical assumptions that underlay Neorealist thought and how Waltz has responded to the various challenges that have been made since the publication of the seminal text Theory of International Politics. The first part of the chapter focuses on the relanguaging and relocation to a structural framework of previous “Realist” concepts, the constitutive acts that separate Neorealism from “classical” Realism. The second part concentrates on the various attempts to challenge Neorealism’s position as a general IR theory. The third part examines the attempts of Waltz to counter these criticisms and the attempt to reorient Neorealism for the post–cold war world. The chapter concludes with a critical assessment of the theoretical power of Neorealist theory.