Realism IR is defined, as it understand the Westphalian system, as an universal law, existing even in early stages in history, but was only understood and created by the majority of developed countries since the 17th century. The basis of this approach is the primacy of the principle of the national State's sovereignty and the accepted meaning of "national interests".
The liberal paradigm of IR is extremely popular and, along with realism, it is one of the two main models of interpretation, analysis and forecasting of the processes taking place in international relations. In politics, the representatives of center-left and democratic parties traditionally follow the liberal paradigm, while realists are mostly represented by conservatives, isolationists, and patriotic forces.
“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.
Understanding current market or economic conditions and the interests of various competitors is not sufficient to adequately comprehend ongoing geopolitical processes. This is especially true for the Middle East and the Balkans.
The English School occupies a special position within IR theories. Usually, it is not considered as an independent paradigm, as it has common characteristics with realism and liberalism, being an original combination of elements characterizing both these approaches. In fact, it cannot be regarded as the synthesis of these two schools as its representatives have quite original positions on some issues, far from both realistic and liberal ones.
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