A Realist Ethos of Resistance in Global Politics

Abstract Realism is conventionally understood as coldly accepting the powerful dominating the weak. Reversing this image, I argue that Realism contains an implicit ethos of resistance. Drawing on a recent scholarship on the historical complexity and diversity of classical Realism in international relations (IR), this article uncovers this ethos by focusing on three shifts of perspective: (1) from an extreme to moderate view of power politics; (2) from naturalizing the status quo to envisaging progressive change; and (3) from a horizontal view of politics among nations (or other horizontally situated entities) to a global image of power politics. I then explore how these shifts exist in a different scholarship, the emergence of a so-called new Realism in political theory. The article builds a conversation between classical Realism in IR and the new Realist philosopher Bernard Williams’ work, finding that both articulate an ethos of legitimate resistance to domination. The significance of the Realist ethos is that it challenges stereotyped images of the tradition justifying domination and injustices, and it inserts and positions a Realist voice in recent debates over human rights to resist in global politics.