Power politics and the interaction among states - Essay Example

E-government has become a reality in most leading economies around the world including the USA, UK and most of the members of the European Union. Realism Realism is the school of thought that favors power politics and came up in the aftermath of World War II. Foreign policy makers and scholars rely on realism to provide a platform for analyzing and understanding the political climate of the world. The role of power in world politics came to the forefront after the conquest of the world by Nazism.

The Second World War was believed to have been caused by various premises of idealism including ideas of collective security. Idealism may have had a great hand in world politics, especially in formation of the UN, but it was superseded by realism. Countries of the world held the idea that the only way to attain peace was through military action and war. Realism is based on several basic assumptions. These include that states are primary and most important entities in politics of the world. The other assumption is that states are unitary rational factors in world politics.

The last assumption is that states seek power as their primary means and end. The assumptions are important in settling various international relations problems in the world. Some schools of thoughts hold that politics is a non-violent struggle for power. According to them, all policies enacted by politicians seek to gain, retain or increase power. Naturally, states are at the most advantageous position to exercise power and therefore, they are the most important entities in power. Military capability of a country is one of the most important measures of power.

Analysts and realists hold the principles that since states are the most important entities in international relations, their power can be exercised through interstate relations. States act through their governments which act in a rational manner pursing national interests in an environment characterized by anarchy. Governments have a set of principles and goals that they strive to achieve through various policies. In the ‘70s, various scholars challenged the concept of realism. Multinational corporations are non-state actors in international relations and during this era, they emerged as strong influences on international policies of various states.

International organized groups such as the UN came up during this period. The scholars found that states cannot be held as the central most important players in politics. MNC have a great influence on politics. There were important changes in the structure of international systems in the second half of the twentieth century. Changes in technology used in transport and communication had an important impact on global politics. Increased independence of states led to a greater level of interstate relations.

New issues emerged in the economic, social and political arenas of most countries. The state-centric assumption of realism came under criticism in the 1971 essay by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye. Their essay recognized the importance of transnational interaction. According to them, nongovernmental actors have a great role to play in interactions between states. Their conclusion invalidated the claim that the state was the single most important player in politics. They suggested further research into various actors in politics (Keohane & Nye, 1971).

Richard Mansbach and John Vasquez also advanced the theory of non-state actors. Their study concentrated on