A Comparative Analysis of Realism and Constructivism in International Relations Ogo, Nnanyere Chukwu 1 nnannaogo@yahoo.com Department of History and International Relations Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki David M.E. Nwogbaga, PhD 2 dnwogbaga504@gmail.com Department of Political Science Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Joseph Okwesili Nkwede, PhD 3 senatorlife201l@yahoo.com Department of Political Science Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki ABSTRACT Theories are generalizations that help analyze and understand specifics. In international relations, several theories abound that help us understand international events and outcomes. Such theories are different and occasionally, share similar elements. In other words, some of them complement each other for a better understanding and analysis of international issues. In this research effort, realism and constructivism are juxtaposed to examine their compatibility in the study of international relations. The work argues that both theories are almost similar, with constructivism being an off shoot of realism, neo-realism. Hence, both complement each other especially when it affects the real essence of world happenings. From the world of imagination, image, idea, identity, et cetera, one moves to the real world where one acquires and uses power to one’s advantage and interest, conditioning one’s choices of allies and enemies. The result is that for a better understanding of international relations, a better grasp of the formation of national interest should be seen in the identity, norms, etc of states being mindful of the realities of the international system; anarchy and self-help. Introduction The study of international relations, like other disciplines in social sciences and arts, is shaped and appreciated by a web of theories that surround it. These theories give room for proper studies, understanding, analysis, explanation and prediction of international events and their outcomes with some measure and degree of accuracy. The study of international relations theory can be traced to E. H .Carr’s “The Twenty Years Crisis” published in 1939 and Hans Morgenthau’s “Politics Among Nations” published in 1948”(Burchill and Linklater 2005:1) International relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. For Kegley and Raymond (2005: 24), a theory is a set of statements that purports to explain a particular phenomenon, a set of interrelated propositions that explains an observed regularity. It supplies ideas, concepts and theories for the purposes of analysis, description, explanation and criticism (Mukherjee and Ramaswamy 2007: 2) Hence, it provides a conceptual framework for the analysis of the relationship amongst Nation-States, Inter-governmental Organizations (IGOs), Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and other non-state actors in the international system. This is important since international relations, today, no longer relies entirely on the relationships among and between states as it has enlarged to encompass relationship between and among states, IGOs, NGOs, MNCs, powerful individuals with global recognition, et cetera. 1