{"id":1440,"date":"2026-08-09T19:11:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/what-do-you-mean-by-offensive-and-defensive-realism-upsc-psir-2023-3107\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:26:28","slug":"what-do-you-mean-by-offensive-and-defensive-realism-upsc-psir-2023-3107","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/what-do-you-mean-by-offensive-and-defensive-realism-upsc-psir-2023-3107\/","title":{"rendered":"What do you mean by offensive and defensive realism?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>&mdash; how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">Rk! both neorealist strands \u2192 shared anarchy \/ self-help \/ survival \u2192 split on how Intro routes much power = security R2 realism&#039;s puzzle &quot;how much power is enough?&quot; \u2192 two answers inside structural realism \u2192 security-sufficient vs power-maximum<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">shared neorealist premises \u2192 Defensive (Waltz): security maximisers -. equilibrium Body flow not hegemony -. excess power provokes balancing + conquest costly (nationalism) \u2192 prudence = adequate power \u2192 Waltz quote -. Offensive (Mearsheimer): power maximisers \u2192 safest when strongest (intentions unverifiable) \u2192 balancing unreliable (buck-passing) \u2192 potential hegemons become actual \u2192 regional not global hegemony (oceans) \u2192 China&#039;s rise not peaceful<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">same premises, opposite prescriptions \u2192 restraint \/ equilibrium (defensive) vs pursuit Counter-view of dominance (offensive) \u2192 US post-Cold War overextension read as the cost of too much power vs great-power rivalry (South China Sea, Eastern Europe) read as unavoidable<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">Rk! disagreement is not over premises but over prudence \u2014 how much power is Conclusion routes enough k2 the two strands together map realism&#039;s range of state behaviour, restraint to dominance<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[34],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[74],"pyq_paper":[69],"class_list":["post-1440","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-34","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-approaches-to-the-study-of-international-relations","pyq_paper-paper-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2657,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1440\/revisions\/2657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}