Politik realizm, politik ilişkileri açıklamayı, modellemeyi, politik meselelere ilişkin tavsiye vermeyi amaçlayan ve gücü politik eylemlerin temel açıklama nedeni olarak merkeze alan bir politika felsefesi teorisidir. Politik realizm düşüncesi, özü itibariyle, doğru olduğu kabul edilen moral-politik ilkeleri eleştirmekte ve idealist temelli politik teorilere bir karşı-akım olarak konumlanmış politik bir teoriyi temsil etmektedir. Uzun bir geçmişi sahip bu akımın ilk izlerinin Thucydides'in Pelopenez Savaşı adlı eserinde bulunabileceğini söylenmekle beraber, özellikle Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Spinoza ve bazı Marxist teorisyenler tarafından konu edinilmiştir. Politikayı politik gerçekliği merkeze alarak düşünmek, ütopyacı düşünme tarzının bir reddi, politik erdemleri ahlaki erdemlerden ayırmak ve ahlaktan ve dinden kaynaklanmayan, otonom normlara bağlı bir eylem alanı olarak politikayı düşünmek olarak ele alındığında, politik realizmin başlangıç noktasında Machiavelli'yi görmekteyiz. Machiavelli, politikanın, moral, dinsel ve spekülatif olanla her türlü ilişkisini koparıp, bütünüyle tarihsel-empirik gerçeklikten hareketle dünyevi bir düzlemde ele alınmasını önermektedir. Ayrıca, Machiavelli'nin politikaya realist yaklaşımı ve politik düşünceye otonomi kazandırma yönünde yaptığı girişim ile birlikte, onun, politikayı değerler alanına ait bir konu olmaktan çıkarmak istediği de söylenebilir. Kısaca Machiavelli, politikanın dünyevi değil dinsel bir renge sahip olduğu Ortaçağ kültürünü aşmak istemiş, toplumsal yaşamı din-dışı, dünyevi ilkelerden hareketle kavramaya ve açıklamaya çalışmış ve böylelikle, politikayı moral ya da dinsel olanın belirleniminden kurtarmayı amaçlamıştır

Political realism is a theory of political philosophy that attends to explain, model, and prescribe political relations and it takes as its assumption that power is the primary end of political action. Thought of political realism in essence criticises to the political-ethical principles that might is right and represents a theory against the idealist political theories. Political realism has a long history, being evident in Thucydides’s Pelopennesian War and it was expanded on Machiavelli, and others such as Hobbes, Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and some Marxist theoreticians followed. The beginning of political realism is Machiavelli when taken into account that considering politics by put political realities in the center, denying the utopian thoughts, to distinguish between moral ideals and political virtues, and to give more autonomy to distinctively political thought independent from moral and religion. Machiavellli brings forward that politics break away from its the all manner of relations with moral, religious and speculative and discusses it purely in the secular platform with reference to historicalempirical reality. Additionally, when considered that Machivaelli’s realist approach to politics and to endeavour to give autonomy to political thought, it could be said that he wants to take politics out from the field of values. Briefly, Machiavelli wants to move beyond the medieval culture and politics which is influenced by religion and religous morality, not secular and tries to understand and explain the cummunity with reference to amoral, non-religious and secular principles, and thus, he aims to cut off the determined bonds of politics from the moral and the religious Political realism is a theory of political philosophy that attends to explain, model, and prescribe political relations and it takes as its assumption that power is the primary end of political action. Thought of political realism in essence criticises to the political-ethical principles that might is right and represents a theory against the idealist political theories. Political realism has a long history, being evident in Thucydides’s Pelopennesian War and it was expanded on Machiavelli, and others such as Hobbes, Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and some Marxist theoreticians followed. The followers of the political realism movement stress to distinguish between political moralism and political realism. According to the distinguish, there is a prior moral determination for politics in political moralism thoughts. When it is considered not only the utopian thinking but also all political theories stemming from moral ideals or precepts (including the philosophers of modern contractarion political philosophy and some utilitarian theorists), and they mostly focus moral theories rather than political ones. On the other side, political realism gives priority to political thoughts most particularly and involves the paradigms giving autonomy to political theory, by contrast with political moralism. And, the primary approaching of political realism to political does not mean amoral or immoral; on the contrary, it is underlined the standarts of proper assessment showing up within the political condisitions itself instead of the external moral perspectives or point of views, with its approaching. When politics is considered, it deals with political affairs or issues with reference to only reality of politics independent from all moral or religious precepts, or in other words, when it is removed the relations of essential between moral and politics with regard to the distinctions between political virtues and moral virtues in political thoughts, it makes possible to take a very important step in providing the autonomy of political sphere. Three philosophers are mentioned as the founders of political realism: Aristotle, Augustinus and Machiavelli. It is claimed that in their approaching to political subjects and problems for these philosophers, who are representing different periods and values in the history of political thought, could trace political realism movement. Aristotle is considered the first acknowledged philosopher of political realism, as a consequence for he deals with the knowledge of reality in three fundamental categories (theoritical, practical and productive knowledges) with a method which could consider “scientific, describes politics with reference of “practical wisdom (phronesis)” - differ from Plato who is his teacher- which is thought of as the act of practical reason that one of these categories, and takes in consideration and systemizes his political theory with a comprehensive knowledge of the reality only from the experience of “practical”. Augustinus describes man as the individual who has the will and responsibility to live in the political reality of the world and to pay the price for what he did on the day of judgement. That’s why, Augustinus’s individual is considered as a political subjects adopt and abide by the ruling and governing of a state in terms of living in a state; as a social beings associate with their own species who is by nature in a community, has emotions of love and affection for other members of the species humanity, and also a moral beings is responsible for their acting. Namely, his archetypal subject lives under and endures political reality. As a result of this, Augustinus’s realism is thought as a kind of passive realism in the context of his individualist teaching that he consider politics because of individiuals having the will and responsibility. After all, Machiavelli does not think of society and politics with moral princeples or priorities like Aristotle, nor does he think of social life as a purely religious view as a theologian like Augustinus. Frankly speaking, it can be said that Machiavelli is the “real” founder of political realism. The beginning of political realism is Machiavelli when it is taken into account that considering politics by put political realities in the center, denying the utopian thoughts, to distinguish between moral ideals and political virtues, and to give more autonomy to distinctively political thought independent from moral and religion. Machiavelli’s political theory only relies on empirical facts, it independences from moral, religious or all metaphysical princeples, ideals or precepts. On the other hand, Machiavelli made a critical approach which brought about a paradigmatical change in political philosophy by turning from problematic of how we ought to live to reality of how we live. Machiavelli, firstly, started to criticize that the tradition of thought which we may call the movement of classical political philosophy or Socratic movement which begun from the city philosophers and extended to Thomas Aquinas. This tradition is a thought of movement which was discussed by Socrates firstly and finds an answer the question of how human ought to live or which life is good life for human being generally. Machiavelli’s objection to this movement, it is taken central how humans live in reality instead of the question of how humans ought to live. Machiavellli brings forward that politics break away from its the all manner of relations with speculative, moral and religious and, discusses it purely in the secular platform with reference to historical-empirical reality. Additionally, when considered that Machivaelli’s realist approach to politics and to endeavour to give autonomy to political thought, it could be said that he wants to take politics out from the field of values. Briefly, Machiavelli wants to move beyond the medieval culture and politics which is influenced by religion and religous morality, not secular and, tries to understand and explain the cummunity with reference to amoral, non-religious and secular principles, and thus, he aims to cut off the determined bonds of politics from the moral and the religious.