Encourage war and conflict Realist critics argue that realists can perpetuate the violent and confrontational world that they describe.

By assuming the uncooperative and egoistic natures of humankind and the absence of hierarchy in the state system, realists encourage leaders to act in ways based on suspicions, powers, and force.

As a result, realism might be viewed as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Realists, on the other hand, believe that leaders face endless constraints and limited opportunities for cooperation.

As a result, they have few alternatives for escaping the reality of power politics.

For realists, facing reality of one's situation is prudent and rational.

Realists also often argue that realism actually encourages the leader to be extremely cautious when deciding where and when to use military power and only use it when it serves your national interest. 2.

Democratic Peace Theory Democratic Peace Theory claims that realism does not apply to democratic state-to-state relations because studies show that democratic states do not go to war with one another.

Realists and the proponents of other schools, on the other hand, criticize both the claims and the study that appear to back it up, claiming that the definition of war and democracy need to be tweaked to achieve the desired result to support Democratic Peace Theory. 3.

Inconsistent with Non-European Politics Schoolers have argued that realist theories, particularly realist conceptions of anarchy and power balance, have not characterized East Asians and African international relations. 4.

State-centuryism Realist theories of international relations have been criticized for assuming that nations are fixed and unitary units.

One analogy is that a single state, a solid global bouncing around the table, never pauses and examines what is inside each one and why it moves the way it does. 5.

Fails to predict or explain the more recent transformation of international systems The conclusion of the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union in 1991 is one such example.

With the Cold War ended, international politics drifted quickly, pointing to a new period of less competition and significant potential for cooperation.

As a result of this transition, an optimistic vision of international politics emerged, dismissing realism as old thinking. 6.

Associated with appeasement It might sound weird that a theory focusing on the competing nature of international relations is associated with appeasement, but remember I mentioned earlier?

Realism actually encourages the leader to only use military force when it serves a national interest, and generally opposes liberal interventionism, an idea proposed that liberal international organizations or nations can intervene in other nations in order to pursue liberal objectives.