{"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":"2026-08-12T21:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:42","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>\u2014 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\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> both neorealist strands <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> shared anarchy \/ self-help \/ survival <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> split on <i>how much power = security<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> realism\u2019s puzzle \u201chow much power is enough?\u201d <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> two answers inside structural realism <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> security-sufficient vs power-maximum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>shared neorealist premises <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Defensive (Waltz)<\/b>: security maximisers <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> equilibrium not hegemony <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> excess power provokes balancing + conquest costly (nationalism) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> prudence = adequate power <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Waltz<\/b> quote <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Offensive (Mearsheimer)<\/b>: power maximisers <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> safest when strongest (intentions unverifiable) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> balancing unreliable (buck-passing) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> potential hegemons become actual <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> regional not global hegemony (oceans) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> China\u2019s rise not peaceful<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>same premises, opposite prescriptions <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> restraint \/ equilibrium (defensive) vs pursuit of dominance (offensive) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> 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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> disagreement is not over premises but over prudence \u2014 how much power is enough<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> the two strands together map realism\u2019s range of state behaviour, restraint to dominance<\/p>\n<\/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":5,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4852,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1440\/revisions\/4852"}],"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}]}}