In my opinion, this analogy of why neorealists liken states in the international system to firms in a capitalist market seems logical. I think this is a very interesting and reasonable statement and I will discuss why in this essay.
I will also be discussing the resemblance between states and firms in the capitalist market. Continuing on from this, I will then be discussing the underlying systemic structures as it is hard to try to understand how states in the international system and firms in a capitalist market operate without being able to comprehend this. To begin, neorealism, which is also known as structural realism, is a theory in international relations that views power and survival as useful tools.
(Waltz. K, 1988) Kenneth N. Waltz described “power as a useful means” in his journal ‘The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory’. However, Kenneth Waltz continues to state that if states have “too little or too much” power that they run quite a “risk”, in his journal. Following this, many neorealists juxtapose states in the international system to firms in a capitalist market.
Why? This is because they are the main components in their main sector.
