The Realist Case for Global Reform (PDF)

Does a hard-headed Realist approach to international politics
necessarily involve skepticism towards progressive foreign policy
initiatives and global reform? Should proponents of Realism always
be seen as morally complacent and politically combative? In this
major reconsideration of the main figures of international
political theory, Bill Scheuerman challenges conventional wisdom to
reveal a neglected tradition of Progressive Realism with much to
contribute to contemporary debates about international
policy-making and world government.



Far from seeing international reform as well-meaning but
potentially irresponsible , Progressive Realists like E. H. Carr,
John Herz, Hans J. Morgenthau, and Reinhold Niebuhr developed
forward-looking ideas which offer an indispensable corrective to
many presently influential views about global politics. Progressive
Realism, Scheuerman argues, offers a compelling and provocative
vision of radical global change which -- when properly interpreted,
can help buttress current efforts to address the most pressing
international issues.

After recovering key subterranean strands in mid-twentieth
century Realism, Scheuerman underscores their relevance to
contemporary international theory. Criticizing more recent Realists
for abandoning their tradition's best insights, he also
demonstrates that reform-minded international theories --including
versions of Cosmopolitanism, Constructivism, the English School,
Liberalism, and Republicanism - could all benefit from taking
Progressive Realism seriously.

A major contribution both to the history of international
relations and contemporary debates in international theory, The
Realist Case for Global Reform concludes by considering how
Progressive Realism informs the foreign policies of US President
Barack Obama.