Doctoral Degrees (Political Studies and Governance)
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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Political Studies and Governance) by Author "Coetzee, Eben"
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Item Open Access International politics in an era of democratic peace: the enduring quality of Waltzian structural realism(University of the Free State, 2017-01) Coetzee, Eben; Solomon, H.English: International politics continue to be marked (or, more properly) marred by debilitating continuities. Across time and space, and against the vogue of inside-out explanations of international politics (with democratic peace theory as the example par excellence), the study points toward the enduring quality of Waltzian structural realism in theorising and explaining international-political outcomes. The study, accordingly, shows the enduring usefulness of systems theories of international politics and, as against this, the inadequacy of reductionist theories in accounting for international-political outcomes. Waltzian concepts and expectations such as the tyranny of small decisions, balance-of-power theory, emulation and competition, and strange bedfellows are borne out by an examination of the past, present and (as far as possible) future of international politics. The study also shows the lack of empirical and theoretical vindication for democratic peace theory. In making a case for the poverty of democratic peace theory and, as against this, the enduring quality of Waltzian structural realism, the study examines international politics from the period ranging from Ancient Greece to the future of international politics, illustrating that we have much to learn from Waltz’s structural realist theory. Short of the system being transformed, and on account of the evidence presented in this study, Waltzian structural realism is set to remain the basic theory of international politics. In more ways than one, the future of international politics is set to look very much like the past.