Abstract:

In this study, the main arguments, aims and application areas of neoclassical realism which emerged as a result of the criticism and questioning within the realistic tradition due to the theoretical diversification experienced after the Cold War in the discipline of international relations are questioned. The fact that the dominant theory of the discipline, structural (neo) realism, is indeed an international policy theory and that it gives the fundamental determinants to the structure of the international system has caused deficiencies in examining the effects of individual foreign policies of the states. Neoclassical realism, which is essentially a foreign policy analysis approach, provides a theoretical framework for understanding foreign policy behaviors by combining the determinism of local dynamics with the pressure of the international system in order to overcome this deficiency. In the article, how neoclassical realism differs from other realistic theories is examined through independent, dependent and intervening variables which are the components of the foreign policy analysis model it has constructed, and ultimately criticisms of neoclassical realism are discussed through new studies. And finally, the contribution the analysis of the foreign policies of the states from the realistic point of view has made especially to the analysis of the changing international policy conditions has been tried to be explained.

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