Idealism

• Idealism (Idealist Approach) and Realism (Realist Approach) have been two competing traditional approaches, each of which wants recognition as the sound approach to the study of international relations. Each advocates a particular view of the totality of international reality and believes that it can be adopted as the means for understanding and explaining all aspects of international relations. Both of these represent the classical tradition of the study of international relations.
• Both Idealism and Realism are normative approaches in essence and content.
• The Idealist Approach holds that old, ineffective and harmful modes of behaviour i.e., war, use of force and violence should be abandoned in favour of new ways and means as determined by knowledge, reason, compassion and self-restraint.
• The Realist Approach regards international politics as struggle for power among nations and justifies as natural the attempts of a nation to use national power for securing the goals of its national interest. It rejects the Idealist Approach as a Utopian approach. In fact both Idealism and Realism are opposed and competing approaches and each offers a particular view of international relations.

The Idealist Approach

• Idealism stands for improving the course of international relations by eliminating war, hunger, inequality, tyranny, force, suppression and violence from international relations. To remove these evils is the objective before humankind. Idealism accepts the possibility of creating a world free from these evils by depending upon reason, science and education.
• “Political idealism in international relations represents a set of ideas which together oppose war and advocate the reform of international community through dependence upon moral values and the development of international institutions and international law.”
• “A world full of human happiness is not beyond human power to achieve.” —Bertrand Russell
• Idealist approach derives strength from the general idea of evolutionary progress in society and the spirit of liberal idealism which was at the back of American policies, particularly during the inter-war years. During the inter-war years (1919-39), the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson became its most forceful exponent.
• The Idealist Approach advocates morality as the means for securing the desired objective of making the world an ideal world. It believes that by following morality and moral values in their relations, nations can not only secure their own development, but also can help the world to eliminate war, inequality, despotism, tyranny, violence and force.
• “For the idealists, politics is the art of good government and not the art of possible. Politics provides for the good life and respect for his fellow humans, both domestically and internationally.” —Couloumbis and Wolfe
• As such Idealism advocates the need for improving relations among nations by removing the evils present in the international environment.

Main Features of Idealism

1. Human nature is essentially good and capable of good deeds in international relations.
2. Human welfare and advancement of civilization are the concerns of all.
3. Bad human behaviour is the product of bad environment and bad institutions.
4. By reforming the environment, bad human behaviour can be eliminated.
5. War represents the worst feature of relations.
6. By reforming international relations, war can be and should be eliminated.
7. Global efforts are needed to end war, violence and tyranny from international relations.
8. International community should work for eliminating such global instruments, features and practices which lead to war.
9. International institutions committed to preserve international peace, international law and order should be developed for securing peace, prosperity and development.

The main supporters of idealism have been Mahatma Gandhi, Bertrand Russell, Woodrow Wilson, Aldous Huxley, William Ladd, Richard Cobben, Margret Mead, and others. They strongly oppose the realist view of international politics as struggle for power and national interest and advocate the use of reason, education and science for securing reforms in relations and for eliminating war and other evils from international relations.