Power politics in the context of "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa"

Realism, in international relations theory, is a theoretical framework that views world politics as an enduring competition among self-interested states vying for power and positioning within an anarchic global system devoid of a centralized authority. It centers on states as rational primary actors navigating a system shaped by power politics, national interest, and a pursuit of security and self-preservation.

Realism involves the strategic use of military force and alliances to boost global influence while maintaining a balance of power. War is seen as inevitably inherent in the anarchic conditions of world politics. Realism also emphasizes the complex dynamics of the security dilemma, where actions taken for security reasons can unintentionally lead to tensions between states.

Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Her best-known work is the 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale. Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award for literature, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.

Atwood's works encompass a variety of themes including gender and identity, religion and myth, the power of language, climate change, and power politics. Many of her poems are inspired by myths and fairy tales which interested her from a very early age.

Liberalism is a school of thought within international relations theory which revolves around three interrelated principles:

• Rejection of power politics as the only possible outcome of international relations; it questions security/warfare principles of realism
• Mutual benefits and international cooperation
• The role of international organizations and nongovernmental actors in shaping state preferences and policy choices

This school of thought emphasizes three factors that encourage more cooperation and less conflict among states:

Buck passing, or passing the buck, is the act of attributing to another person or group one's own responsibility. It is often used to refer to a strategy in power politics whereby a state tries to get another state to deter or fight an aggressor state while it remains on the sidelines. Buck passing is not to be confused with scapegoating, the act of blaming.

The Twenty Years' Crisis: 1919–1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations is a book on international relations written by E. H. Carr. The book was written in the 1930s shortly before the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the first edition was published in September 1939, shortly after the war's outbreak; a second edition was published in 1946. In the revised edition, Carr did not "re-write every passage which had been in someway modified by the subsequent course of events", but rather decided "to modify a few sentences" and undertake other small efforts to improve the clarity of the work.

In the book, Carr advances a realist theory of international politics, as well as a critique of what he refers to as the utopian vision of liberal idealists (which he associates with Woodrow Wilson). Carr's realism has often been characterized as classical realism. Carr argues that international politics is defined by power politics. He describes three types of power: military power, economic power, and power over opinion. He argues that political action is based on a coordination of morality and power.