Morgenthau has explained six principles of his Realist Theory. These together constitute the essence of his Political Realism.
I. First Principle:
Politics is governed by Objective Laws which have roots in Human Nature:
The first principle of political realism holds that “politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature.” It is as such necessary to understand these laws and build a rational theory of international politics. “These laws cannot be refuted and challenged. Taking these as the basis, we can formulate a rational theory of International Politics; Political Realism believes that international politics operates on the basis of certain objective laws.”
Facts of Human Nature:
For knowing the objective laws of human nature, we must analyze the facts of human relations. Human nature is fairly constant and therefore a review of the history of human relations and actions can help us to know these objective laws. These can be then used for evaluating the nature of relations. History of human relations can provide us facts for understanding politics. This review however, must be empirical as well as logical. This dual test alone can lead us to formulate a rational and valid theory of politics.
II. Second Principle:
National Interest defined in terms of National Power
(i) The master key and the core of Morgenthau’s Realism is its second principle. This principle holds that nations always define and act for securing their national interests by means of power.
“The main sign-post that helps political realism to find its way through the landscape of international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power. This concept provides the link between reason trying to understand international politics and the facts to be understood.” —Morgenthau
It is this aspect which highlights the autonomous character of International Politics. Nations always try to secure the goals of their interests which are always defined in terms of power.
2. (ii) National Interest is always secured by the use of National Power. Each nation conceptualizes its national interests in terms of power and then acts to secure these by means of power. History fully supports this view. A national interest not backed by power exists only on paper and in imagination. The only correct way to conceptualize and define national interest is in terms of power.
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As such, the first principle of Morgenthau’s Realist Theory of International Politics holds that politics is governed by some objective laws which have their roots in human nature. By understanding these objective laws, we can understand and study International Politics. For knowing these objective laws we have to study the history of human relations. Through this an empirical and rational theory of foreign policy can be formulated which can guide the actions of states in international relations.
