The first part outlined the traditional view of realism, which holds that it is empirical and pessimistic. Classical realism is also ascribes causation to human nature, distinguishes between status-quo and revisionist powers and accepts subjectivity in social science – points on which it differs with neorealism. The second part compared how Morgenthau and Waltz respectively defined power, the former primarily conceiving it as a reflection of material factors, while the latter emphasised immaterial forces. Morgenthau’s conception of power therefore contrasts with traditional understanding. The third part compared the analytical levels in which each scholar worked. While Morgenthau believed that power seeking is fundamentally reducible to human nature, Waltz stresses anarchy. Nevertheless, both theorists draw on unit-based and structural explanations. Thus, the purported difference between the two realisms with respect to levels of analysis is inaccurate. The final part compared critical and normative themes in their writings. While both theorists primarily sought to develop an explanatory theoretical framework, Morgenthau utilised critical and normative arguments in his work. His concept of wielding truth against power confirms this. Waltz, however, was hesitant of incorporating critical and normative analyses. Two possibilities were given for this, namely that his theory largely disregards agency, making prescriptive arguments unnecessary. Secondly, writing in the ‘stable’, bipolar era of the Cold War, he had little incentive to attack it. Therefore, critical and normative arguments are not absent from realism, but only from the realism of Waltz.