
Realist Tradition and Contemporary International Relations.
Title:
Realist Tradition and Contemporary International Relations.
Author:
Clinton, W. David.
ISBN:
9780807135679
Personal Author:
Edition:
1st ed.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (241 pages)
Series:
Political Traditions in Foreign Policy Series
Contents:
Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- Reinhold Niebuhr: A Personal Reflection and Political Evaluation -- Thucydides on Peace -- What's "Realistic"?: A Framework for an Augustinian Analysis of Contemporary Approaches to International Relations -- International Law from a Machiavellian Perspective -- Mathematici versus Dogmatici: Understanding the Realist Project through Hobbes -- "Every Man Supposed a Knave": David Hume's Political Realism -- Edmund Burke's Theory of International Order: The Debate between Realism and Rationalism -- The Relevance of E. H. Carr's Realism in the Post-Cold War World -- Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian Realism/Christian Idealism -- Morgenthau's Political Realism and the Ethics of Evil -- Conclusion: The Relevance of Realism in the Post-Cold War World -- Contributors -- Index.
Abstract:
The tradition in international relations theory known as realism has often been associated with the Cold War. The contributors to this intriguing volume argue, however, that realism remains a profound and relevant perspective on contemporary international politics. They point out that classical realism is based on concepts that were elucidated long before the Cold War began and are not confined by its boundaries. Further, they believe that insights of the realist tradition can provide valuable guidance in our contemporary world.W. David Clinton and ten scholars of foreign policy reexamine the work of thinkers spanning twenty-five centuries who have contributed to the development of realism across the ages. In their essays, the authors consider two key questions: What makes these thinkers "realists"? And how is their work relevant to the modern, post--Cold War world? These essays take a fresh look at such canonical thinkers as Thucydides, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hume, Burke, Carr, Niebuhr, and Morgenthau. Countering the widespread belief that realism has nothing left to offer, this collection demonstrates that continuities remain in the political world -- and that the ideas rooted in realism are too important and too useful to ignore.While there are obvious differences among the political philosophers whose works are considered here, they share a common concern about human limitations and the possible dangerous consequences of ignoring those limitations. Each in his own way, these classic thinkers discuss the need for prudence to counter the ever-present threat of tragedy resulting from our innocent, hopeful, or self-righteous efforts for perfection. These provocative essays demonstrate that though a realist understanding of the nature of international relations is at least as old as Thucydides, it is also as contemporaneous as the most
recent headline.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
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