Realist Theories of IR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Realist Theories of IR - Essay Example The strong point of this view is the accommodation of the element of conflict that exists even within an individual. Human nature is constantly waging war against itself with the desires of a person mostly conflicting with outside influences such as learning. A political realist is holistic in thought because of the acknowledgement of the existence and relevance of standards other than the political ones. The political realist refutes the â€Å"legalistic moralistic approach† to international politics and cannot subordinate standards of other schools of thought to those of politics. The realists vehemently defend the autonomy of the political sphere against its subversion by other modes of thought without disregarding their existence and importance (Morgenthau 14). Kenneth Waltz also had a realist perspective to international relations which he called neorealism or structural or defensive realism. This theorist used the turmoil inherent in international relations to restrict the global â€Å"net† to its classical international component (Waltz 29). From the neorealist approach examination of the structures of international systems is the best way to understand international politics. The structures of the international system are reflected alliances and other cooperative arrangements between nations (Mearsheimer 32). The polarity of the system becomes the key factor in international relations; and depending on the number of dominant superpowers, a system might be unipolar bipolar or multipolar. John Measheimer took a different view which he referred to as â€Å"offensive realism†. Measheimer’s perspective follows on the principles of Kenneth Waltz’s theory to utilize the â€Å"structure† of the international system to derive the behavior of states (Mearsheimer 25). The theoretical foundation of Measheimer outlines that: the international system in anarchic, all

Are GM crops the state of the art of intensive agriculture or a step Essay

Are GM crops the state of the art of intensive agriculture or a step too far Discuss with reference to the conservation of nature - Essay Example ild species of plants such as corn or blueberries, then you will notice that their fruit is much smaller than that of varieties sold in the local grocery store (p.9). The reason for this difference in size he explains is that for centuries, farmers have sought to improve the size –and other characteristics- of the crops they grow. This allows them to produce a greater volume of food per acre of land, and it produced more food to feed people. GM foods have been around for much longer than most people know, in fact in the U.S, and 30% of Americans have been eating food made from GM crops since the year 1998 when the first Flar-Savr Tomato was introduced into the U.S supermarkets. Still, even with hundreds of millions of people around the world eating GM foods for more than a decade, controversy over the use of this technology remains very high all over the world (Diehl Paul 2014:1). This controversy is mostly fired up by the fact that GM foods were released into the market without the public knowledge. The Real Truth Magazine (2014), states that several reasons as to why the GM food issue has remained a huge topic for discussion and controversy around the world (p. 1-2). Biotech corporations market their products by selling the idea that they are ideal solutions to nutrition, world hunger and the environment yet all these foods have managed to do to attract speculations and fear about their possible side effects to the hu man race. To further explain this, The Real Truth Magazine lists these areas of controversy; Producers of GM crops claim that their genetically altered crops are more nutritious than natural crops. The promoters of ‘Golden Rice’ said that this rice was more superior to natural rich in vitamin A among other nutrients. After several tests, this rice was discovered to be inferior to natural rice. This lie was uncovered by Ticciati and Ticciati (1998), the authors of â€Å"Genetically Engineered Foods: Are They Safe? You Decide." They present