Neo Classical Realism: A Training Course on Power, State Behaviour and International Theory
1Summary
Why do some states arm themselves even when no immediate threat exists, while their domestic politics pull in the opposite direction? Neo Classical Realism was developed precisely to answer questions like this — bridging the gap between a state's external environment and its internal political reality. The Arab British Fellowship Training Academy built this course around that bridge, treating Neo Classical Realism as a living framework for reading today's global order, not just a chapter in a textbook.
The course situates the theory among its closest relatives — Classical Realism, Neo Realism, and Defensive Realism — so participants understand not just what Neo Classical Realism claims, but why it emerged and where it departs from the theories that came before it. Modern international relations, after all, are built on dense interdependence between states, each balancing its own security against the compatibility of interests that holds the wider system together.
2Objectives and target group
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Distinguish between Realism and Classical Realism, and explain how Neo Classical Realism relates to both.
- Identify the leading pioneers and main principles of Neo Classical Realism Theory.
- Apply the theory to interpret current global situations and ongoing international disputes.
- Trace the historical stages that turned international relations into an independent political science, along with its core entities, topics, and branches — including international law.
- Explain how foreign policy, international policy, and international relations connect to one another.
Who should attend:
- Students of international relations and political science, and graduates entering the field.
- New staff in foreign ministries, international relations departments, and the diplomatic sector generally.
- Officials responsible for international agreements and directors of international relations offices.
- Professionals joining embassies, consulates, ministries, and international organisations.
- Graduates of university economic departments and staff of government institutions handling economic functions.
3Course Content
Module 1: Why Theory Matters for Reading World Events
- What international relations actually covers, and how definitions of the field have shifted across different historical periods.
Module 2: What Shapes State Behaviour
- The economic, geographic, political and military factors that drive how states act toward one another.
- The role international organisations play in mediating and channelling that behaviour.
Module 3: From Classical to Neo Realism
- The foundations of Classical Realism and how Neo Realism reworked its core assumptions for a changed global order.
Module 4: Defensive Realism and the Neo Classical Synthesis
- Defensive Realism as a distinct branch within the realist tradition.
- How Neo Classical Realism builds on these strands, and its place in the broader development of international relations as an independent field of political science.
Module 5: International Regime and the Balance of Power
- The concept of an international regime and how it governs interactions between states.
- The balance-of-power principle and its continuing relevance to realist theory.