Realism
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The realist school of thought has been utilized to analyze international relations, in one form or another, since the age of the ancient Greeks. Basically, the fundamental structures for classical realism are based on the writings of Thucydides, a historian that chronicled a conflict between two great, nation-state powers of the ancient Greek world, Athens and Sparta. In his work, The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides analyzed the conflict by stating that international politics is driven by an endless struggle for power, which has its roots in human nature. Furthermore, Thucydides goes on to describe the state of nature as one of anarchy, with each nation having a dominant concern for its own security. According to the historian, within a given structure of states, a hierarchy among the states determined the pattern of their relations. Therefore, Thucydides claimed that while a change in the hierarchy of weaker states did not ultimately affect a given system, a disturbance in the order of stronger states would decisively upset the stability of the system. "What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused Sparta," Thucydides wrote in order to illustrate the resulting systematic change; that is, "...a change in the hierarchy or control of the international political system." Thucydides's realism has had a timeless impact on the way contemporary analysts perceive international relations...