Green Power Politics: Traditional Realism and the Dynamics of Sustainability in International Relations

Abstract

This research examines the global green energy transition through the lens of Hans Morgenthau’s Traditional Realism, challenging the dominant Liberal Institutionalist narrative of climate cooperation. Using a qualitative descriptive method and library research, the study analyzes how sustainability is being operationalized as a tool of statecraft, prestige, and dominance. The results indicate that initiatives like the EU Green Deal and CBAM function as "Regulatory Imperialism," satisfying the animus dominandi of established powers by imposing normative hierarchies. Conversely, Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming and "polyalignment" strategy represent a redefinition of the national interest in terms of industrial power and ecological sovereignty. The study also finds that Morgenthau's Policy of Prestige explains why states pursue climate leadership, even absent immediate material gain, since green credentials function as diplomatic capital that secures legitimacy and shields industrial interests from international scrutiny. The study concludes that the "Green Consensus" is a theater of prestige where states compete for moral authority to secure hierarchical advantages. It recommends that developing nations utilize resource nationalism to negotiate their ascent in the international order, treating sustainability not merely as a moral obligation but as a sophisticated instrument of power politics. These findings suggest that scholarship and policymaking on climate cooperation should account more explicitly for the persistence of power-seeking behavior beneath ostensibly cooperative environmental frameworks.

Keywords—Animus Dominandi, Green Statecraft, Indonesia, Nickel Downstreaming, Traditional Realism