Enduring Legacy of Realism and the US Foreign Policy: Dynamics of Prudence, National Interest and Balance of Power

Abstract

The United States pursuing the realist prescription during the cold war helped maintain the balance of power and thus ‘peace’ among the competing great powers. In the post-cold war era it divorced some of realist assumptions – most importantly the prudential consideration – and pursued hegemonic policies which not only alienated its allies but also created apprehensions among other great powers about US ambitious grand designs. By pursuing such policies it has challenged not only the legitimacy of certain institutions established since Second World War (like United Nations), but also the institutions being established since Treaty of Westphalia (like state sovereignty). The study postulates that struggle for power and great power politics that had gone to the back-benches for some time during 1990s is very much alive and back in the post 9/11 era generally, and in the past decade specifically, establishing the prominence of enduring legacy of Realism.