Tag: International Relations

Pericles’ Funeral Oration and State Worship: Thucydidean Realism (3)

May 1, 2022

At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, Athenian leader Pericles took the helm as first general and leader. His first two speeches exhort the Athenians to stay strong in war and praise Athens in the context of a funeral for the first to die. In his funeral speech, Pericles almost forgets the dead soldiers in his love panegyric to Athenian glory. The implications are discussed from the point of view of the general problem of state worship. … More Pericles’ Funeral Oration and State Worship: Thucydidean Realism (3)

Thucydidean Realism: The Emergence of Rivals (1)

April 11, 2022

in a series on the Ancient Greek historian Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, with an emphasis on using Thucydidean realism to understand events in International relations. Thucydides begins his work with an “archeology,” a history of ancient times. Through it, we begin to see his take on human nature and the dynamics of power. I begin with a brief discussion of Hans Morgenthau’s “old fashioned realism.” … More Thucydidean Realism: The Emergence of Rivals (1)