R E A L I S M

From the realist vantage point, objective and elite policy makers are insulated from the fluff of idealism. They focus on power and conflict (Tickner 10).

This realist, militarist view of international politics is closely linked with masculinity.

Realism enforces the notion of men-as-protectors, since men are the soldiers in the all-important military.

So the military (and hence, masculinity) has defined our national representations.

Realism and its attendant ethnocentricity are trapped as truth. A new paradigm for international relations could examine other truths and realities.