The Edinburgh Companion to Political Realism Political realism is a highly diverse body of international relations theory. This substantial reference work examines political realism in terms of its history, its scientific methodology and its normative role in international affairs. Split into three sections, it covers the 2000-year canon of realism: the different schools of thought, the key thinkers and how it responds to foreign policy challenges faced by individual states and globally. It brings political realism up-to-date by showing where theory has failed to keep up with contemporary problems and suggests how it can be applied and adapted to fit our new, globalised world order. Key Features:The first volume to offer a full, balanced guide to Political Realism: its history and its normative role in international affairsCovers the main thinkers, from Thucydides through Niccolò Machiavelli to Isaiah BerlinEngages with the major foreign policy issues of our times, such as strategic deterrence, nationalism, terrorism, cyber security, climate change, the open society and religionConsiders political realism in non-Western contexts, including Israel, Russia and ChinaIncludes political realism’s ground-up growth and interpretation outwith Western contexts