The nature of sophisticated realism: Raymond Aron and international relations

Abstract

Aron made a distinctive, cognitively high-powered addition to classical realism. As a sociologist he stressed that war was likely to be relatively limited if two conditions were fulfilled. First, the international system needed to be relatively homogeneous, so as to increase understanding between states. Second, states needed to become intelligent, able to calculate clearly. In the absence of these factors war was likely to move towards the extremes.