According to Jackson and Sorensen: “For classical realists realists the national interest is the basic guide of responsible foreign policy: it is a moral idea that must be defended and promoted by state leaders. Like most foreign policy, he regards the national interest as a product of the structure of the international system rather than something which is the personal responsibility responsibility and management of political leaders. Waltz has a different conception of the national interest to Morgenthau. According Acco rding to th is approach, approac h, “the characteristics ch aracteristics a nd the interactions of behavioral units are taken to be the direct cause of political events” (Waltz 1990: 33). Traditional or classical realism, in his view, is unable to conceptualize the international system in this way because it is limited by its behavioral behaviora l methodolo gy which “explains political sys tems”. Kenneth Waltz parts company with what he calls the “traditional realism” of Morgenthau by arguing that international politics politics can be thought of a system with a precisely defined structure. However he emphasizes over and over, the detachment detachmen t of the national interest from political and ethical perspectives: “The national interest of great powers and in good measure the methods by which it is to be secured are impervious to ideological and institutional changes” (Morgenthau 1962: 199). Although morality cannot be the basis of forming national interests, Morgenthau refers to the “moral dignity of the national interest”, implying that at the very least the term is morally defensible guide to foreign policy formulation (Morgenthau (Morgenth au 1951: 33). However, Morgenthau concedes that the definition of power will change over time: on some occasions economic power will be crucial, at other times military or cultural power will be decisive. The national interest interest is normally defined in terms of strategic and economic capability because international politics is seen primarily as a struggle for power between states. The relative power of nation-states can be assessed and measured, and is therefore an important objective reality. Although he recognized that at any particular point in time the interest of a nation should be informed informed by the the “political “political and cultural cultural context context within within which foreign foreign policy policy formulated”, defining interest in terms of power would largely overcome the problem of subjectivity (Morgenthau 1985: 9 and 528). Morgenthau argues that “interest is the perennial standard by which political action must be judged and directed” because the “objective of foreign policy must be defined in terms of the national interest” (Morgenthau 1985: 9 and 528). For Morgenthau, there is no escape from power which is ubiquitous in every aspect of life and the “concept of interest is defined in terms of power.” Thus, power politics can be used as another name for Morgenthau’s realism. He can be regarded as one of the most significant pioneers of the modern form of the classical realism. Morgenthau is the most important representative of the 'realist' school in the discipline of international politics. Realism is widely regarded as the most influential theoretical tradition in International Relations, even by its harshest critics. At first, we will analyze realistic approach to the national interest. This article aims to investigate the national interest understandings of these different positions in the society in the light of five IR theories: Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism and Critical Theory.
On the contrary, every actor in the society will understand the concept in relation with its position in the system. Without ignoring the relationship between the perspective and the knowledge about the nature of truth, it can be claimed that there is no point in insisting on only one definition of the national interest. Key Words: national interest, realism, liberalism, constructivism, idealism. In the article will be analyzed the national interest understandings of these different positions in the light of five IR theories: Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Constructivism, Marxism and Critical Theory. This article aims to analyze the concept of the national interest from different points of view thus, it can be defined as an endeavor towards the nature of the national interest. Gasimov Sayavush BAAU Baku, Azerbaijan E-mail: com ABSTRACT THE NATIONAL INTEREST IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY