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Contemporary realist theory suffers from a great power bias because of its inordinate focus on polar politics. It ignores the international politics that takes place in regional settings where local conditions and choices play an important, if not a determining, role. Regional conditions are far more unequal than is the case between the great powers, and this inequality is likely to be much more enduring. A focus on local rather than global politics results in far more accommodationist regional strategies rather than balancing ones.
In Regional Realism: Expanding Realist Theory Beyond the Great Powers, Rajesh Rajagopalan examines this bias and the negligible focus of previous realist theoretical efforts to address regional international politics. He outlines five propositions about a regional realist framework. Though based on common realist foundations, the framework is often contradictory to great power realism. The paper attempts a brief “plausibility testing” of these propositions in five regions and concludes with comments on the importance and implications of the regional realist theory.
Carnegie India hosted Rajesh Rajagopalan for a discussion on his paper Regional Realism: Expanding Realist Theory Beyond the Great Powers at the Security Studies Seminar. The discussion was moderated by Srinath Raghavan.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
Limitations of Great Power Realism: Contemporary realist theory is marked by a strong bias towards great powers and polar politics and gives inadequate agency to smaller states. First, contemporary realism is limited in its scope as it focuses primarily on great power politics. The behavior of states, however, is impacted by numerous other considerations as well. Second, weaker states have an impact on great powers, but realists largely ignore or disagree with it, claiming it to be an “overreaction.” However, contrary to realist understandings, during the Cold War, for instance, the two superpowers were intensely engaged in gaining influence over smaller states that were critical to them. Last, contemporary realism ignores the vital role weaker states play in the international system and fails to appreciate regional differences. Participants discussed these limitations and the theory’s inability to explain the structure and developments in regions like South Asia. This has led to the need for regional realist theory that does not intend to replace realist theory; rather, it utilizes and supplements it to better reflect regional realities. It lays more emphasis on politics within regions and on local considerations, which significantly impact the functioning of states within the region. Thus, regional realism can help better explain the behavior of a vast majority of states and the present realities of the world.
Propositions of Regional Realism: Participants discussed five key propositions of regional realism. First, for non-great powers, the primary driver of interstate politics is the regional balance of power, rather than the global. For instance, Russia declined as a global power but continues to influence its neighboring and regional states. Second, regional balancing efforts determine polar involvement in the region, and the structure of the polar balance also influences regional states. In the Middle East, for example, regional balance favoring Israel has enabled it to hold significant influence over American involvement in the region. Third, balancing is less prominent and difficult in regions that are more unequal. Weaker states in the region seek to balance regional powers, but their efforts are mostly localized. For instance, as a relatively stronger state, India attempts to balance great powers, whereas Pakistan’s balancing efforts are largely focused within South Asia. Fourth, regional imbalance tends to be more stable than global imbalance. Balancing is hard as there are fewer states in a region and natural endowments of states vary significantly. A case in point are East Asian states that lack the capacity to challenge China’s overarching presence in the region. Fifth, regional systems are highly unequal but the capacity of regional powers to become hegemons in their regions is limited. This is because their absolute capacity is usually insufficient, and external powers can potentially intervene. South Africa, for example, is a dominant power in the Southern African region but is not hegemonic.
Assessing Regional Realism: Participants recognized regional realism as an important addition to contemporary realist theory. In this regard, they discussed the distinct merits of regional realism to international theory. First, the scope of great power realism is limited as it primarily focuses on the West and draws inspiration from Eurocentric understandings, whereas regional realism amplifies the voice of the Global South. It is an important addition to great power realism, helping bring to the fore the concerns of middle and small powers. Second, the theory helps highlight local issues, especially persistent inequalities faced within regional systems. Third, regional realism is not restricted by great powers, as it gives due importance to regional powers and emphasizes their influence and agency. However, participants acknowledged that there are certain limitations to the concept of regional realism as well. First, there is a lack of consensus on the definition and demarcation of regions as regional boundaries are open to interpretation and evolve over time. Second, while regional realism emphasizes the distinction between regional and global orders, in practice, these distinctions are often blurred as relationships among nations are complex and dynamic. Last, major global actors can significantly impact the behavior of regional actors and the region as a whole, and hence, great power realism continues to be relevant to understanding regional dynamics.
This summary was prepared by Swasti Sachdeva, research assistant and program coordinator, and Mugdha Satpute, young ambassador, with the Security Studies Program at Carnegie India.
