Transcript a `state of nature`

IPT, L3:
Realism（1）
Shunji Cui
Department of Political Science
School of Public Affairs
Zhejiang University
Email: [email protected]
Contents:
1.
Realist Tradition
 Thucydides
 Machiavelli
 Hobbes
2.
Classical Realism
 Morgenthau
Realism: KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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States are the principal or most important actors (IR is the
study of relations among these units). Hence, the notion of
‘international system of states’
State as a unitary actor (an integrated unit)
State as a rational actor (rationality: end-means relationship)
Distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low politics’
National Security as the most important issue for states
Central role of power in politics of all kinds --- also the
limitations of power
Sensitive to ethical dilemmas and its practical implications
National interests – also shared interests (of community)
and persuasion
Where Realist Thinking Comes
From??
 Thucydides
 Machiavelli
 Hobbes
Thucydides (471-400 BC)
21-28 years of war between Athens &
Sparta in 5c BC.
 History of the Peloponnesian War


Thucydides: The first writer in the realist
tradition & the founding father of the IR
Discipline?
古希腊地图
Thucydides & the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides: a member of one of the more
notable Athenian families
 In
424BC (the 8th year of the War), elected as a general
 Failed to prevent the Spartans capture of a city
 Being

punished with 20-ys of exile.
History of the Peloponnesian War
 Spent
rest of the war observing events, travelling, and
interviewing participants.
 As an exile (detached from), yet (obsessed with)
politics.
 Though concerned with accuracy, gave precedence to
understanding the motives and policies of the leaders on
all sides.
The Peloponnesian War (TPW)

Can be Taken simply as history book
 Tales
of heroism and brutality, victory and defeat,
brilliance and stupidity, honor and deceit.
 These human traits are exhibited not only in one
particular war, but in all wars throughout the ages.
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
The Tasks & Purpose: much more ambitious than
simply describing what was occurring.
The past == the guide for the future
 Less
interested in the immediate cause of the
Peloponnesian War, than was the underlying forces at
work  drew historical lessons for future statesmen.

At the heart, TPW == the study of the struggle
for military and political power.
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“I propose first to give an account of the causes of
complaint which they had against each other and
of the specific instances where their interests
classed [== i.e. the immediate causes of the
war]: this is in order that there should be no doubt
in anyone’s mind about what led to this great war
falling upon the Hellenes.
But the real reason for the war is, in my opinion,
most likely to be disguised by such argument.
What made war inevitable was the growth of
Athenian power and the fear which this caused
in Sparta [== i.e. this was the underlying cause
of the war].”
History of the Peloponnesian War
要点: Fear & the Cause of Fear
1.
Fear：Thus, the real and underlying
cause of the war was fear associated
with a shift in the BOP.
 Sparta:
fear of losing its preeminent role in the
Hellenic world  took countermeasures –
build up its military strength, support of allies.
 Athens responded in kind (security dilemma)
 今天== familiar notions of arms races,
deterrence, BOP, alliances, diplomacy,
strategy, concerns for honor, perceptions of
strength and weakness.
2. The Cause of Fear：
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Not so much innate or basic human nature as it
is the nature of interstate politics === anarchy
In a world == where no superordinate or central
authority
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
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Whether ancient city-states, modern states 
encompassing large expanses of territory
“the strong do what they have the power to do and
the weak accept what they have to accept”. The
Melian dialogue
Fear ==  may lead to war
Power/ relative capabilities == 
determine the outcome
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
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Italian political philosopher
The situation in 16c Italy, divided as the peninsula
was into separate city states ≈ to the Hellenic world
of Thucydides.
Worked as a civil servant and diplomat until the
Republic of Florence fell in 1512.
The Prince – to the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo di
Medici.
 Wrote
of power, BOP, formation of alliances and counter
alliances, and the cause of conflict between different citystates.
 However, the primary focus  national security
The Prince & National Security
Realpolitik = a German term, refers to
power and power politics among states
(central to realist thought).
1. Security & Power:
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
Survival of the state (identified with the ruling
prince) was paramount.
 The Prince == a principal manual on how to
gain, maintain, and expand power.
2. Security & Ethic:
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The security of the state is so important that it may
justify certain acts by the prince that would be forbidden
to other individuals not burdened by the princely
responsibility of assuring that security.
The end == security of the state == is understood to
justify any means necessary to achieve that end.
Two distinct ethics:
1.
2.

Conventional religious morality concerned with such matters as
individual salvation – the ethics of ultimate ends.
The moral obligations of rulers who must take actions to
provide for national security – the ethics of responsibility
(political ethics)
It follows that, rulers should be good if they can (good in
the conventional sense), but be willing to practice evil if
necessary (consistent with their obligations as rulers).
3. Security and the world
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The world as it is, not the world as it should or
aught to be.
Ethics and politics are divorced from each other
His advice to the prince, was based on an analysis
of history and of what actually occurs in the political
realm, not on abstract ethical principles.
评价：
Machiavelism ???
 Rulers

to use violence for its own sake? No!
How a particular policy contributes to the security
and stability of the state == yardstick
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
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The English Civil War (1642–1651)
Leviathan (1651)
 The first general theory of politics in
English.
 Pessimistic view of human nature
 Primary focus – domestic politics
 Goal – make the strongest case for
the necessity of a powerful,
centralized political authority.
 How? == thought experiment:
a ‘state of nature’  civil society
Leviathan

A ‘state of nature’ == thought experiment

Posited that prior to the creation of society == human
beings lived in a ‘state of nature’ == a condition of war
of ‘everyone against everyone’ – a continual fear and
danger of violent death.
Why this situation??
 How people could escape from this
situation??
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Why this situation??
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Human nature: Hobbes has pessimistic view
about human nature, that man by nature is
unsocial, does not seek the good.
Natural equality: His assumption of a natural
equality in men means that even the weakest can
kill the strongest. No man is sufficiently powerful
enough in a natural state to feel security.自然使人
在身心两方面的能力都十分相等.
Natural Right: In a state of nature everyone has
the right to preserve his own life – natural right –,
there are no moral limits on what a man can do to
protect himself.
How people could escape from this situation?

By agreeing to place all power in the hands of a
sovereign or Leviathan (a state authority, or supreme
ruler)  that would maintain order and end the
anarchy of the state of nature. == (social contract) ==
that lead (anarchy order).
 If
government authority did not already exist, it would
have to be created.
 “there must be some coercive power to compel men
equally to the performance of the covenants, by the terror
of some punishment, greater than the benefit they expect
by the breach of their covenant”.

Without order, civilization and all its benefits are
impossible – no economic development, art,
knowledge, or anything else of value.
Implications for IR Today
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Hobbes’s impact on realism == from this image of
individuals in a mythical state of nature 
Which is equally applicable to relations among
states
 Because in the state of nature = in IP, there is
no Leviathan or superordinate power to impose
order.
 It is a condition of anarchy – the absence of
central or superordinate authority over states
that claim individually to be sovereign with a
right to be independent or autonomous with
respect to one another.
As anarchy prevails in the state of nature,
so too is anarchy a dominant characteristic
of international politics.
 Without a Leviathan (a hegemonic power,
or world state), suspicion, distrust, conflict,
and war are seemingly inevitable.
 In the absence of any social contract
among (or authority over) them, there are
no moral obligations to govern the
relations of states.
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Intellectual Roots

Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War
(‘The Melian Dialogue’)
 ‘The
standard of justice depends on the equality of
power to compel and that in fact the strong do what
they have power to do, and the weak accept what
they have to accept’ .

Machiavelli(1469-1527): The Prince
 ‘it
is much safer to be feared than to be loved, if one
must choose’.
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Hobbes(1588-1679): Leviathan
 In
the absence of a sovereign authority, life of the
individual is ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’.
2. Realism & Neorealism
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Morgenthau & Political Realism

Power Politics: Theory
 Power Politics: in Practice
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Waltz & Neorealism

Systemic Theory
 Implications for ir
Morgenthau’s notion of power politics
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Morgenthau’s prime purpose：
 theory of IP should meet a dual test –
empirical & logical.
We need to understand: both Morgenthau’s
theoretical ground of power politics and his
approach of practice of power (FP).
1. Theoretical Ground
2. Foreign Policy
(1) Theoretical grounds
The concept of interest defined in terms of power
Utopianism:
believes a rational and
moral political order,
derived from universally
valid abstract principles,
can be achieved by
conscious political action.
assumes the essential
goodness of human
nature, and blames the
failure of the social order
to measure up the
rational standards.
Morgenthau:
seeks to understand
international politics as the
result of forces inherent in
human nature, hence to
improve the world one must
work with those forces, not
against them.
believes that power politics
could not be transcended,
but at best it might be made
to serve rational ends.需
谨慎 prudence.
Morgenthau: PAN, 6 principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Politics is governed by its own inherent laws, rooted in human
nature人性是政治本源
Key signpost for study of international politics: ‘interest defined in
terms of power’ 权力定义利益—立标
‘interest defined as power’ is an objectively valid category, but the
meanings of both ‘interest’ and ‘power’ will vary historically – in
post WW2 context the implication is balance of power politics 权力
定义的利益是客观的规则
Politics has moral significance, but there is an ineluctable tension
between ‘moral command and the requirements of political action’;
普世道德不能用来指导国家行为
The moral aspirations of a particular state must not be confused
with universal moral laws; 国家道德不等同于普世道德
Autonomy of the political – distinct from law, economics etc. 政治
现实主义是独立的理论学派
International politics = struggle for power:
2 Concerns : Power Concern v. Moral Concern
Morality for the private sphere
The moral command
道德要求
Ethics in general
judges action by its conformity
to the moral law

Morality for the public sphere
Tension
紧张状态
Prudence
谨慎
The requirements of
successful political action
成功的政治行动
political ethics
judges action by its political
consequences
There can be no political morality without prudence谨慎, that is,
without consideration of the political consequences of seemingly
moral action.  his conception of the practice of power.
(2) Practice of power

On American FP (especially about
problems):
 Vietnam
and the US (1965);
 A New FP for the US (1969),
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Morgenthau continued to examine, test,
and apply his central principles of power,
interest and morality. And by the mid1960s he had become American’s main
critic of the Vietnam War.
Desirability and Possibility
US FP – fear of communism
 indiscriminate anti-communism ——
ideologically consistent ≠ politically and
militarily sound
 The concept of interest defined in terms of
power requires a sharp distinction
between the desirability and the
possibility, which will save us from both
moral excess and political folly.
 (比较：Lee Kuan Yew FP）

Conclusion: What principles do
classical realists share?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Must look at world as it is, not as it ought to
be.
Interest of states and leaders is power.
Ambition for power comes more from human
nature than structure of system.
Moral claims or arguments about justice have
no place in foreign policy.
These principles are permanent aspects of
international politics.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS

States are the principal or most important actors (IR is
the study of relations among these units). Hence, the
notion of ‘an international system of states’

State as a unitary actor (an integrated unit)

State as a rational actor (rationality: end-means
relationship) Distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low politics’

National Security as the most important issue for states
Next Week: Liberalism
Qs:
 Liberals are optimistic about human
progress, cooperation, and peace. What
are the reasons given for that optimism?
Are they good reasons?
 Identify the arguments given by the 4
strands of liberalism, is any strand of
liberalism more fundamentally important, or
are all strands equally important?
Thank You !!!