The confessions of a neoclassical realist

In 1972, Hedley Bullwrote that ‘the sources of facile optimism and narrow moralism never dryup, and the lessons of the “realists” have to be learnt afresh byevery new generation.‘ He proceeded to claim, withundue emphasis, that ‘in terms of the academic study of internationalrelations, the stream of thinking and writing that began with Niebuhr and Carrhas long run its course.’ The scholarly problems with classical realisttheory are indeed severe. However, it would be a most grievous error toconsign such theory to the bin marked ‘yesterday's solutions foryesterday's problems.’ If the academic study of internationalrelations can find little save period-piece interest in the ideas of theclassical realists, that is more a comment upon the competence of scholarshiptoday than upon any change in world conditions.