Neorealism and Structural Changes in the Gulf

Neorealism as a new school of international politics was virtually born with the publication of Kenneth Waltz’ book, Theory of International Politics (1979). Waltz departs from fundamental propositions of the traditional realist school; that is the anarchical character of the international system, the assumption of rational behavior on the part of international agents, the search for power and the preeminance of interest. However he breaks with it on a certain number of other points; principally because realism has proven incapable of constructing a theory that is proper to international politics. With regard to this, Waltz’s critique is just as much addressed to Hans Morgenthau as to Raymond Aron. The former is criticized essentially because, according to Waltz, he has confused foreign politics with international politics, and the latter because he neither believes in the autonomy of international relations as a distinct scientific discipline nor, more importantly, in the possibility of constructing a specific theory of international relations.1