現實主義國際關係理論之傳統 - 政大學術集成

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(1)Department of Diplomacy National Cheng-Chi University Master Thesis 國立政治大學外交學系碩士論文. 治政 Traditions in Realist International大Relations Theory 立 ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. By. engchi. i n U. v. Chin-Jang Liu 劉金讓 Supervisor: Hao Yeh, Ph.D. 指導教授：葉浩博士. July 2011.

(2) 學. (This page is intentionally left blank.). ‧. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(3) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Acknowledgement Thanks God for His grace and blessings in my journey of study. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Yeh, Hao whose cogent advice and patient guidance have made this thesis possible. It is his passion for philosophy deeply inspired this thesis which would otherwise be a dull work. He is truly a role model whose persistence for academic again and again motivates me. The. 立. deepest appreciation goes to him.. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. A sincere word of thanks goes to my family, my study buddies, and my girlfriend. ‧. Christy Lin. I thank my mom and my aunt for their loving and altruistic support. I. sit. y. Nat. would also like to thank my study pals who kept my accompanied through this long,. n. al. er. io. stressful, and sometimes wearing process of writing. I‟m also grateful to Christy. Her. Ch. i n U. v. understanding and encouragement have eased the irksome process of writing.. engchi. I am also indebted to Grace Lee who tries her best to proofread my English writing before the deadline. Yet, the time is tight and the author does not have sufficient time before his military service. She is not responsible for any residual authorial errors. Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Huyan-hsiang Lin and Prof. Alex Chiang who gave me many constructive and valuable advice during my thesis‟ oral defense.. i.

(4) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Abstract Political Realism is suffering from a crisis of superficialization. The profound traditional roots of Political Realism are being simplified or ignored. This thesis attempts to re-examine the classical texts of Political Realism‟s traditions and thus raise questions about some problems in this theoretical programme. Four major traditions which are the Thucydidesian, the Augustinian, the Machiavellian, and the. 政治大 Hobbesian tradition will be re-envisioned and re-appreciated, and their legacies to 立. ‧ 國. 學. modern Realists will also be expounded. As this thesis would show, serious inherent. ‧. logical problems exist in the dominant theoretical approach to Political Realism,. sit. y. Nat. which has become pertinent to international relations theory study. Mainstream. n. al. er. io. scholars put too much undue attention on a certain version of the Hobbesian tradition. Ch. i n U. v. and thus overlook other possibilities which are equally important in formatting this. engchi. vast theoretical school. By showing the richness and diversity of Political Realism‟s tradition, this thesis also suggests that the nature of this theoretical programme is being obfuscated by commonsense scholars. All these inherent theoretical problems will be exhibited in this thesis with an approach to re-appreciate and re-envision the traditional roots of Political Realism.. ii.

(5) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. 摘要當今現實主義理論學派正面臨著一種淺碟化的危機，伴隨而來的是現實主義深遠的傳統根基遭受簡化以及忽視。本文企圖藉由重新檢驗現實主義傳統的古典文獻，提出在現實主義中的許多被忽略的問題。本文重新定位與評析現實主義之主要理論傳統，包括修昔底德傳統、奧古斯丁傳統、馬基維利傳統、以及霍布斯傳統等四大傳統。此外，本文亦將討論上述四項傳統理論的遺緒。吾人以為，當. 政治大今現實主義學派的主流理論途徑，存在著嚴重的內在邏輯問題，同時這些問題影立. ‧ 國. 學. 響著當代的國關研究。主流學者過度關注於特定版本的霍布斯傳統，因而輕視其它於此理論學派中同等重要的途徑之可能性。同時，透過本文對於現實主義理論. ‧. sit. y. Nat. 傳統多元性與豐富性之展現，本文也指出部分擁簇常識現實主義(commonsense. n. al. er. io. Realism)的學者們，事實上已模糊化現實主義的理論本質。針對上述各種內在的. i n U. v. 理論問題，作者冀望以本文採一種重新詮釋、重新定位現實主義理論根基的途徑來展現並反省。. Ch. engchi. iii.

(6) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 The Problematique ............................................................................................. 2 Star Endorsers ................................................................................................... 5 Combing the Traditional Threads ....................................................................... 7 Thesis Plan ...................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: The Thucydidean Tradition .................................................................. 21 Thucydidean Realism ...................................................................................... 23 Power Determinism ......................................................................................... 25 Stasis vis-à-vis Homonoia ................................................................................ 28 Balance of Power ............................................................................................. 33. 政治大. Thucydides‟ Realism ....................................................................................... 36 Succession ....................................................................................................... 40 Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 48 Chapter 3: The Augustinian Tradition ................................................................... 51 The City of God ............................................................................................... 55. 立. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. Human Nature and Hope ................................................................................. 57 Individual and Society ..................................................................................... 64 Prudence and Survival ..................................................................................... 68 Love (Caritas) .................................................................................................. 72 War and Peace ................................................................................................. 77. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. i n U. v. Succession ....................................................................................................... 81 Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 91 Chapter 4: The Machiavellian Tradition ................................................................ 95 Glory, Virtù, and Fortune ................................................................................. 97 Advising the Statecraft................................................................................... 101. Ch. engchi. The Doctrine of Raison d’État ....................................................................... 108 Succession ..................................................................................................... 120 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................... 129 Chapter 5: The Hobbesian Tradition ................................................................... 133 Basic Accounts .............................................................................................. 136 A Solipsistic Approach................................................................................... 141 Succession ..................................................................................................... 151 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................... 165 Chapter 6: Conclusion ........................................................................................ 170 A Crisis of Superficialization ......................................................................... 171 iv.

(7) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Legacies Reviewed ........................................................................................ 174 Future Possibilities ........................................................................................ 181 An Unfinished Project ................................................................................... 193 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 197. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. v. i n U. v.

(8) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Chapter 治 1: 立. 政. 大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Introduction. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 1. i n U. v.

(9) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. The Problematique The following characterization, or in similar phrasing (Donnelly, 2000, p. 23), may not be unfamiliar to readers of international relations: Political Realism is both an ancient and young wisdom. We got the idea that Political Realism is young in the sense that it is being continually revised, reinterpreted, and re-demarcated. Besides, some might take a stricter stance saying that Political Realism did not officially exist. 政治大 until the emergence of the academic discipline International Relations. However, in 立. ‧ 國. 學. regard to the antiquity of Political Realism, do we really know what this subject. ‧. matter refers to? Scholars of international relations often hark back to ancient political. sit. y. Nat. philosophers in support of their arguments. As Dunne and Schmidt wrote in an. n. al. er. io. international relations textbook that “many contemporary realist writers often claim to. Ch. i n U. v. be part of an ancient tradition of thought that includes such illustrious figures as. engchi. Thucydides (c. 460-406 BC), Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78)” (Dunne & Schmidt, 2001, p. 142). And Wohlforth also suggests that “[p]olitical realists typically claim to be part of a tradition that stretch back, through Thomas Hobbes and Niccòlo Machiavelli, to Thucydudes” (Wohlforth, 2008, p. 132). But readers cannot actually derive much from these kinds of claims listing philosophers who have an extensive scope of. 2.

(10) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. discoursing interest except the fact that these writers are more or less on certain points related to Political Realism. With this sort of credit-invoking claims, we still lack an understanding of whence and how these different thinkers are influential to Political Realism; neither do we know in this widely-encompassing research programme 1 what theoretical parts can be attributed respectively to these historical thinkers. How little such claims tell us if we really look into them.. 政治大. Even today, the origins of Political Realism do not receive too much attention. 立. from scholars of international relations. Especially in textbooks for students of. ‧ 國. 學. international relations, the political inheritance of Political Realism from political. ‧. theories has been often either omitted or glossed over. For example, the political. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. traditions of Political Realism is almost totally neglected in Strategic Choice and. n. International Relations (Lake & Powell, 1999), a textbook used by Prof. Stephen. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Haggard in University of California, San Diego in 2003. And in a chapter about Realism in The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relation (Baylis & Smith, 2001) which is used by Prof. Joseph S. Nye in 2007 and Prof. Stephen M. Walt in 2008 as one of their textbooks in Harvard University, Realism‟s political tradition is discussed very briefly and dogmatically. The important idea of raison d’état is briefly discussed but the influence and contribution of 1. Gilpin suggests that Political Realism is a “philosophical disposition” (Gilpin, 1984, p. 289; 1996, p. 6). Some scholars prefer different phrasing. Relevant discussions will be referred to in chapter 6. 3.

(11) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Machiavelli are not duly accredited to him. Without surprise, Thucydides‟ legacy is focused on the power politic nature of the Melian Dialogue. Hobbes is read to support Liberal Realism and Augustine is omitted completely. Although in the chapter Realism‟s traditional progenitors are discussed by large, their legacy and influence are not pointed out, not to mention the possibilities of reading them differently, except for the parts about Hobbes. Furthermore, in many other textbooks used by college. 政治大. professors2, Realism‟s political tradition‟s legacy and influence to modern Realists are. 立. often reflected by brief introductions of a few popular concepts which we are all. ‧ 國. 學. familiar with. Careful examinations and reflective discussions of Realism‟s tradition. ‧. are often skipped by these textbooks. Fortunately, in Viotti and Kauppi‟s (2010) recent. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. popular textbook, traditions of Political Realism are not unjustly neglected. More. n. inspiringly, they have discussed up to seven traditions of Political Realism thus have. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. shown a concern for the diversity of Political Realism‟s tradition. However, it is regrettable that they do not go deep enough to have their readers acquired a more complete appreciation of these traditions. After all, in only a few pages they cover so many traditions that it is difficult to have an exposition that is penetrating and persuasive enough for enthusiastic readers. 2. Such as Understanding International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory and History (Nye, 2007) used by Prof. Nye in Harvard University in 2007; Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Jervis, 1976) used by Prof. Robert Jervis in Columbia University in 2000 and Prof. Robert Rauchhaus in University of California, Santa Barbara in 2009; and The Logic of Political Survival (Mesquita, Smith, Siverson, & Morrow, 2003) used by Prof. Nuno P. Monteiro in Yale University in 2010. 4.

(12) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Textbook writers of international relations frequently describe Realism as an age-old wisdom long predating today. Besides glossing over by giving a list of often-heard political philosophers, mismatches and misquotes occur frequently as well. Because of commonsense instincts and inadequate awareness, some scholars often reflectively attribute the roots of Realism to one or two popular figures in political philosophy. Hobbes and Machiavelli are the two most popular political thinkers that. 政治大. Realists of international relations go to when they try to derive some theoretical. 立. backup. But neither one of them can be attributed to for the entire pluralistic school of. ‧ 國. 學. Realism. They certainly have contributed to the formation of the school of Political. ‧. Realism but only parts of it.. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat Star Endorsers. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. For some scholars, Hobbes‟ accounts define the school of Political Realism not only because of his distinguishing assumption of state of nature but also because of his incorporation of many other classical elements of Political Realism such as pessimism towards human nature. Michael Smith suggests that “analysis of the state of nature remains the defining feature of realist thought. His notion of the international state of nature as a state of war is shared by virtually everyone calling himself a realist” (Smith, 1986, p. 13). Michael Williams also suggests that “[t]he 5.

(13) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. name of Thomas Hobbes and the tradition of Realism have become virtually synonymous in discussion within International Relations” (Williams, 2005, p. 19). Similarly, Hedley Bull uses the name of Hobbes to represent the school of Political Realism to signify the homogeneity between the Realist school and Hobbes‟ political philosophy (Bull, 2002). But in this thesis, readers will be shown that many theoretical elements in Hobbes‟ accounts are inherited from earlier political thinkers.. 政治大. Hobbes‟ assumption of state of nature indeed is an important contribution to modern. 立. Realism but there are other Realist traditions which rely more significantly on other. ‧ 國. 學. aspects such Augustine vis-à-vis human nature.. ‧. For other scholars, Machiavelli is the signpost figure because of his pioneering. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. insight into how politics should not be confined by moral ideas. When categorizing. n. thoughts in the realm of international relations, Martin Wight, like Bull vis-à-vis. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Hobbes, prefers Machiavelli for naming the Realist tradition (Wight, 2005). “For Wight, …, international action is about the interaction between statesmen and the international system, statesmen representing their states in the international society” (Rosow, 2009, p. 244). It is obvious that Wight‟s understanding of Political Realism is basically Machiavellian. But his equation of the Realist school to the Machiavellian tradition excludes the possibility of characterizing this theoretical framework by other traditions which are equally important and representative. Just as Hobbes as being a 6.

(14) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. popular thinker to be unduly focused, Machiavelli is another popular candidate for scholars to make blanket claims concerning the roots of Political Realism. Both the Hobbesian and the Machiavellian traditions cover two traditions of Political Realism. There are other traditions in this school, at least two more as proposed in this thesis. While many scholars either attribute Hobbes or Machiavelli as the representative figure of Realism, there are also scholars who accredit both celebrated philosophers.. 政治大. For example, Paul Wilkinson even maintains that Machiavelli and Hobbes are “the. 立. true precursors of the modern realist school of thought in international relations”. ‧ 國. 學. (Wilkinson, 2007, p. 2). Such arbitrary attributions are not rare in works of. ‧. international relations theory. Though most discreet writers are always conscious of. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. the peril of such kind of arbitration, a clear picture of the lineage of political. n. inheritance in Political Realism might be reasonably considered as unfamiliar to them.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. What this thesis is arguing against is the kind of one-for-all designation that attributes the roots of the entire school of Political Realism to one or two certain famous philosophers. These labels implicate a serious selective partiality and more importantly, it renders misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Political Realism.. Combing the Traditional Threads Along with parochialism and oversimplification, imprecision and dislocation of 7.

(15) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. back-harking ascriptions obfuscate readers just as much. Jack Donnelly is a famous textbook writer of Political Realism. His book Realism and International Relations (Donnelly, 2000)incorporates a wide scope of discussion on Political Realism and it also provides several important insights for students of international relations. However, there are a few points in his works which deserve better clarification. He presents six Realist paradigms— Thomas Hobbes, Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz,. 政治大. the Prisoners‟ Dilemma, Thucydides, and Machiavelli. But it does not seem to bother. 立. him that he mentions these figures together with a theoretical assumption (the. ‧ 國. 學. Prisoners‟ Dilemma) that come from widely encompassing scope of era in an. ‧. anachronistic order. It also does not seem to interest him that there is a serious degree. y. Nat. er. io. sit. of overlap among these paradigms. In his paradigms of Kenneth Waltz and the Prisoners‟ Dilemma, Hobbes‟ legacy play an important role wherein. The Augustinian. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. tradition is omitted but one of his successors Hans Morgenthau is listed. Augustine‟s prime contribution to Political Realism, namely, his insightful accounts on human nature, is attributed to Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes. But we cannot find in these philosophers‟ work a system of discourses as comprehensive and integrated as that of Augustine‟s. When discussing accounts by Thucydides, Donnelly inevitably falls to the pit of commonsense Realism3. He focuses on the Melian Dialogue and 3. For Roger Spegele, commonsense Realism is “shaped by the thought and experience of E.H. Carr, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans J. Morgenthau, Martin Wight, Sir Herbert Butterfield, Raymond Aron and 8.

(16) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. quoted the most often-heard sentence from the Peloponnesian War “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” (Donnelly, 2000, p. 23) to suggest the important place of power and the assumption of balance of power located in Thucydides‟ accounts. Although Donnelly does suggest the role of morality acknowledged by Thucydides, this thesis disagrees with his main position of using Thucydides in characterizing Political Realism.. 政治大. Scholars seem to have hard time to resist the unnamable charm of the Melian. 立. Dialogues in Thucydides‟ The Peloponnesian War. It should be noted that this. ‧ 國. 學. dialogue per se is not Thucydides‟ own remark but a documentation of the event. ‧. while the Athenian envoy was asking submission of the Melians. The undue attention. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. of this passage oftentimes causes scholars to neglect Thucydides‟ actual purpose of. n. documenting that historical period of war. When Dunne and Schmidt (Dunne &. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Schmidt) talk about Thucydides, they also give their attention solely to the Melian Dialogue. They interpret this passage as the manifestation of Thucydides‟ perspective. indefinitely many others” (Spegele, 1996, p. 85). Further, he adds, “[t]he content of commonsense realism is well known: it holds that human beings are basically selfish; that stares largely pursue their interests; and that power is the primary coin of diplomatic and military exchange” (Spegele, 1996, p. 85). And as suggests in the main texts, he believes that “[d]espite their penetrating insights into the power-political aspects of international politics we can regret, admittedly with all the unfair benefit of hindsight, the absence of philosophical efforts to make philosophical arguments on behalf of commonsense realism” (p. 87). In this thesis, adopting this term from Spelege (1996), commonsense Realism refers to a way of claiming Political Realism as a theoretical approach which is exclusively related to power, interest, and egoism this kind of popular concepts used repeatedly by certain scholars, especially textbook writers. It is one of the many ways of interpreting Political Realism yet it monopolizes the popular image of this theoretical school with intuitive, shallow, dogmatic, and often sensational concepts of international relations. Because of the monopoly of the popular image of this theoretical school, their accounts are asserted as common senses of international relations and they tolerate little alternative options. 9.

(17) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. on human nature but they fail to notice the different description by Thucydides on peacetimes. As it will be argued in the first chapter of this thesis, Thucydides‟ core idea of his Peloponnesian War is the situational extraordinariness of times in turmoil. Richard Ned Lebow (2003) has a better understanding on Thucydides that resonates with this thesis‟ view. However, that he pairs up Morgenthau with Thucydides appears somewhat peculiar. Realist perspectives on human nature are believed to be originally. 政治大. derived from Augustine‟s accounts most soundly. Skipping Augustine is sure to miss. 立. some important parts in Morgenthau‟s work. The tragic tone of theoretical accounts is. ‧ 國. 學. the way that Lebow links Thucydides and Morgenthau. But the Thucydidesian Realist. ‧. tragedy described by Lebow is caused by necessary measures of man facing miserable. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. intelligible.. sit. reality. Without presumptions of human nature, such accounts cannot be logically. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Lebow is not the only one who neglects the influence of Augustine on Political Realism. Keith L. Shimko (2010) is also a textbook writer who gives a vague idea when introducing tradition of Political Realism. He claims that Political Realism is the application of several conservative insights. A sketchy touch on Thucydides covers his introduction of Realist tradition. Three, at least, other important figures are all left unmentioned in his article. A more notable surprise is that he talks about the role of human nature and Christianity in relation to Political Realism but not even the 10.

(18) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. name of Augustine. Both Niebuhr and Morgenthau are included in his discussion. It seems that he gives little sign of how or whether he acknowledges the inheritance of Augustine‟s legacy in these two writers‟ accounts. Goldstein and Pevenhouse (2010) also show an inadequate level of interest in identifying the political roots of Political Realism in a chapter on Realism in their popular textbook. Besides a glaring omission of Augustine, their introduction of. 政治大. Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes does not really hit on the points. Again, their. 立. introduction of Thucydides also rests on a platitudinous focus on the Melian Dialogue. ‧ 國. 學. and the same line, unsurprisingly, has also been quoted—“the strong do what they. ‧. have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept” (Goldstein &. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. Pevenhouse, 2010, p. 44). Also, their parts on Machiavelli and Hobbes are general and. n. unclear. Their portrayal of the philosophers‟ fundamental theoretical ideas is. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. incomplete. They define Political Realism as that it “is a school of thought that explains international relations in terms of power” (Goldstein & Pevenhouse, 2010, p. 43). Such definition resting on power is considered problematic because the belief that states depend on power is an application or deduction of Realism which should not reversely define it. Definition of Political Realism implicates intricate arguments and debates. The author does not attempt to deal with this matter here. Relevant discussions will be reflected in the concluding chapter. However, it is believed that a 11.

(19) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. textbook of international relations which is so popular that it has been republished for 10 editions should at least pay more observant attention to the traditional origins of Political Realism as the dominant theoretical approach in the realm of international relations theory. In order to comb out each tradition‟s inherited threads, this thesis will look into each traditional progenitor‟s work to find out their core accounts. This thesis will. 政治大. show that each tradition has a distinct feature of argument that characterizes its legacy.. 立. Thucydides is the founder of the basic epistemological disposition of Political. ‧ 國. 學. Realism. His Peloponnesian War helps to demarcate Realists‟ fundamental stance. ‧. which focuses on the reality instead of morality. Realism began to grow with the. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. insightful perspectives on human nature by Augustine. His integrated philosophy. n. makes human nature one of the most indispensable cornerstones of arguments made. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. by many Realists. Machiavelli‟s doctrine of raison d’état consolidates this theoretical framework. His philosophy of the morality qua statesman equips Realists with a sharp sword to cut through moralists‟ heavy hedge. Hobbes‟ assumption of state of nature symbolizes the maturity of Realism and the channel for applying previous traditional legacies to international relations. Each traditional progenitor has their characterizing theoretical feature and contribution to Realism. By combing these elements out, we could thus acquire a clearer idea concerning the lineage of Political Realism‟s 12.

(20) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. traditional inheritance. When the ideological roots of Political Realism are not clearly understood, scholars‟ seeking of endorsement from political philosophers may be both imprecise and obscure. Because of the reputation of a few political philosophers, careless writers oftentimes misplace credit to them when the theorists‟ accounts were unrelated to their points. Political Realism, it is argued here, sprouted from Thucydides as a most. 政治大. fundamental attitude of understanding the reality. Beginning from him, Political. 立. Realism continues to develop into an increasingly composite and manifold. ‧ 國. 學. philosophical stance that is rich in writers‟ efforts of different generations. Augustine,. ‧. Machiavelli, and Hobbes are the other three cornerstone thinkers in the theoretical. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. history of Political Realism. One by one, the later thinkers more or less have inherited. n. ideological legacies from the earlier thinkers. It is crucial to identify these. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. longstanding writers‟ innovative contribution in order to attribute certain parts of Political Realism to their works. A claim which tries to extract theoretical backing from these political philosophers obfuscates his readers by merely mentioning the writer‟s name but excluding his actual contribution. These traditional progenitors have their respective innovative parts and their inherited elements in their theoretical accounts. We should always be conscious of what they are and how they were inherited. A thesis like this article is expected to be helpful by revealing the inter- and 13.

(21) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. over-lapping and intricate theoretical composition. It is motivated in this thesis that a clear organization of the theoretical succession and inheritance of Political Realism can be rendered to our readers. It is not an easy job but nonetheless worth initiating the attempt.. Thesis Plan. 政治大. It should be noted here that when speaking of realism (with a lowercase r), the. 立. author means the philosophical stance that focuses of facts which happen in reality in. ‧ 國. 學. contrast with normative ideas. It is concerned with what is instead of what should be.. ‧. It can also be called as the context-sensitive realism seeing that it signifies a sense of. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. fact, of history, and of situational context. But when the word Realism is used, the. n. author refers to the disciplinary theoretical approach which generally, albeit its. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. theoretical depth and traditional richness, focuses on power, interest, and anarchy when explaining international relations. It is a school of theoretical preposition that is often being distinguished from other schools such as Idealism or Liberalism. The capitalized Realism is a school of thought that derived from the philosophical stance of realism but the Realism incorporates many other components than merely the epistemology of realism such as the assumption of anarchy and rationality. In this thesis, the questions raised above will be tackled by a direct examination of 14.

(22) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. the original texts. Four important philosophers will be examined as the four progenitors of Political Realist traditions. Along with the dominant tradition, the Hobbesian tradition, three other traditions, the Thucydidean, the Augustinian, and the Machiavellian tradition are our focus traditions. Though it may be argued that these four traditions do not exhaust the options, they are selected because they are believed to be the most representative, each having distinguishing features that represent the. 政治大. fundamental argument of Realists of different approaches. Not only because of. 立. scholars‟ constant reference to them but also because of their far-reaching influence,. ‧ 國. 學. they are undoubtedly the four traditions which can suffice our purpose most. ‧. efficiently. The point of this thesis is to exhibit the richness and diversity of Realist. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. traditions. Therefore, by expounding on these four most often-invoked traditions it is. n. believed that we would suffice our purpose. After all, to do a comprehensive and. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. catch-all work which includes all possible political legacies to Political Realists is not our attempt. The strategy here is to examine these four traditional progenitors‟ most representative and influential works. They are respectively The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, The City of God by Augustine, The Prince by Machiavelli, and Leviathan by Hobbes. Other important works by these philosophers such as Discourses on Livy by Machiavelli will also be invoked to help make our points. It is believed that by 15.

(23) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. directly facing the original texts we can have a most undistracted and credible standpoint for examining how these political philosophers‟ works have affected contemporary Political Realists in constructing their theoretical accounts. This work of reexamining these political philosophical texts will be rather revisionary rather than either conventional or critical. The aim is to discover the possibility of different interpretations while maintaining their defining features. This. 政治大. thesis attempts to show the richness and diversity of Political Realism‟s traditions not. 立. only among traditions but also within traditions. The four main traditions represent. ‧ 國. 學. the inter-traditional diversity while the possibility of reading each tradition differently. ‧. represents the intra-traditional variety. Beginning with the Thucydidean tradition, the. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. organization of this thesis takes on a chronological way of discussion in order to have. n. a clear appreciation of how the earlier theoretical elements were kneaded into the later. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. traditions. Also, this thesis is motivated to unwind the intertwined theoretical composition in Realism that is inherited, adopted, and applied by contemporary Realists from the early traditional precursors. To exhibit the lineage of Political Realism, we will distinguish each traditional precursor‟s innovative parts from their inherited parts. As Nardin notes, there is “an element of invention in every tradition” (Nardin, 1992, p. 7). Each tradition here is respectively characterized by their distinguishing innovations. In the following chapters, the core feature of each 16.

(24) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. tradition will be identified, and in the end of each main chapter, contemporary successors of each tradition will also be exemplified to reveal the influence and legacies of the traditional progenitors. Although many scholars believe that international relations theories are about the defense and critique of Political Realism, it seems to the author that there is a worrisome trend in the field of international relations that Political Realism is. 政治大. gradually losing its acuteness ascribed by dedicated theorists. Many important ideas in. 立. this research programme are left unexamined and thus become “common senses”.. ‧ 國. 學. Commonsense ideas gradually eat away the vigor of a theoretical approach. The. ‧. nominalizing and simplifying process wears down the philosophical depth of a. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. theoretical approach. When most concepts in a theoretical approach become. n. customarily unanimous, that is, become over-simplified common senses, the. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. theoretical approach is not far away from its demise. Just as Spegele earnestly warns us that “the previous generation of realist thought engaged in surprisingly little philosophical analysis” (Spegele, 1996, p. 87). The philosophical origins of Realism demands more attention and scholarly efforts. There are indeed some scattered scholarly efforts in this regard. For example, in Gilpin‟s 1984 article The Richness of the Tradition of Political Realism he refutes Ashley‟s accusation against him and several other scholars called Neorealists by 17.

(25) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Ashley (1982, 1984). Ashley maintains that these so-called Neorealists have betrayed the venerable tradition of Realism. Gilpin (1984) strikes back in his article saying that neither has Ashley a clear definition of his so-called Realist heritage nor he realizes the important difference and diversity of theoretic position of these scholars that he criticizes. Focusing on showing that Neorealists are not a band of apostates of Classical Realism, Gilpin fails to show the richness and diversity wherein. He does. 政治大. realize that Realism is a profound tradition of philosophical position but his article. 立. does not show his readers how. Afterwards, Steven Forde‟s article Varieties of Realism. ‧ 國. 學. (1992) is a work of splendid spark that it glares for a moment but does not cut deep. ‧. enough. It is a good article to compare between Thucydides and Machiavelli but it has. y. Nat. er. io. sit. a too narrow framework to significantly reveal the richness and diversity of Political Realism‟s traditions. A work of broader range and greater depth is needed to patch up. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. this hole. The aspiration of enriching the theoretical efforts in this regard has motivated the emergence of this article. To recapitulate, this thesis aims to solve the problem that the roots of Political Realism have often been cursorily attributed to certain one or two political thinkers. Also, this article also strive to deal with the problem that international relations writers often do not have a clear view on the roots of Political Realism. The goals of this thesis also include helping writers of international relations to avoid misquotes 18.

(26) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. and misinterpretations of the traditional progenitors of Political Realism. To do so, this thesis will strive to shape the characterizing feature of each tradition as clear as possible. By the help of this task, this thesis will be able to comb out the inherited theoretical thread of earlier traditions in each later tradition. In this way, readers will be presented respective influence of each tradition on modern Political Realism. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to show readers that Political Realism, instead of being. 政治大. the wisdom of simple common sense, is a school of theoretical framework that is rich. 立. in traditional diversity and possibilities of pluralistic interpretations. Therefore, this is. ‧ 國. 學. a thesis aiming its readership at scholars of international relations. It is quite common. ‧. that scholars of political theory have a pluralistic viewpoint concerning the nature of. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. different political thinkers‟ philosophy. Scholars of political theory are usually aware. n. of the possibilities of reading respective political thinkers differently. In giant political. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. thinkers‟ philosophy, there are usually different angles to approach to and there are different idea concepts to focus on as well. This thesis intends to point out the fact that instead of considering the possibilities of deducting from plural and diverse idea concepts in each political thinkers philosophy, scholars of international relations tend to derive power and interest monotonously from a particular angle, that is to say, by focusing on a certain idea concept in a certain tradition. But there are many other possible idea concepts in each political thinker‟s philosophy which are also viable to 19.

(27) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. derive International Political Realism. As we all know, Machiavelli is not Machiavellian and Hobbes is not necessarily Hobbesian. But who understands Machiavelli as necessarily Machiavellian and Hobbes as necessarily Hobbesian? This way of questioning basically epitomizes our main focus of concern.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 20. i n U. v.

(28) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Chapter 治 2: 政. 大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 立 The Thucydidean Tradition. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 21. i n U. v.

(29) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. From this chapter on, the main content of this thesis is arranged into four chapters, each is themed with respective Realist traditions. During this series of discussions I intend to present these major traditions of Realism chronologically, initiating with the tradition defined by Thucydides‟ (460-395 BC) philosophy, based on his book The Peloponnesian War (1959a, 1959b). Thucydides‟ idea concerning international relations4 shall have its place in the very first phase of the examination. 政治大. of his tradition, and so shall his Realist insights. A revisionary proposal of his Realist. 立. proposition will be suggested and used for challenging popular textbook opinions of. ‧ 國. 學. Thucydides‟ Realist legacy. A following discussion on the Realism of contemporary. ‧. scholars who show idea features characterizing them as Thucydidean Realists. y. Nat. er. io. sit. constitutes another part of analysis. Besides, there shall be no doubt that their source in Thucydides‟ philosophy will be traced as a reflection of Thucydides‟ influence on. n. al. contemporary Realists.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Since the Political Realism has been recognized as a school of disciplinary theory in the realm of international relations, Thucydides has come into scholars‟ minds5 as the most ancient Realist antecedent (Lebow, 2003, p. 112). Explaining the outburst of the Peloponnesian War in terms of relative power, Thucydides is tagged with the label of Political Realist. His work The Peloponnesian War has been credited 4. By which I mean inter-polis relations in regard to the political units at that time. Such as Hans Morgenthau, Robert Gilpin, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Robert Jervis, and Michael W. Doyle (Lebow, 2003, p. 112). 22 5.

(30) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. as one of the most ancient Realist magnum opus. It provides two fundamental ideas for Political Realism6 to stem from, generally claimed by the majority of Realists. Firstly, power determinism. Contemporary Realists, especially textbook Realists, believe that the dominative force of power is the most, and perhaps the only one, important factor explaining interplays between international actors. The other is the theory of balance of power, an equally important assumption in Realism for many. 政治大. Realists7. As it will be presented in this chapter later, both of these two fundamental. 立. ideas are grounded on the recognition of disjunction between the reality and. ‧ 國. 學. normative conventions. Besides these two commonly recognized idea components,. ‧. this thesis proposes another equally, perhaps even more, important core idea. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. component which characterizes Thucydides‟ Realism, namely, the argument of stasis.. n. The idea of stasis is argued here for being the most distinguishing feature to. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. characterize Thucydides‟ Realist legacy in his work The Peloponnesian War.. Thucydidean Realism Aspiring to be an influential historian to the followed generations, Thucydides. 6. Thucydides‟ remarks allow open-end interpretations for different theorists to acclaim roots from. For example, Richard Ned Lebow maintains that Thucydides is both a realist and a constructivist (Lebow, 2003, p. 166). And it is actually a popular topic debated by scholars on whether Thucydides is a Realist or not (Carlsnaes, Risse, & Simmons, 2002, p. 362n; Crane, 1998, pp. 37-38; Lebow, 2003, pp. 113-114). However, Thucydides‟ The Peloponnesian War does consist of a sizable portion of Realist accounts. 7 “If there is any distinctively political theory of international politics, balance of power is it” (Waltz, 1979, p. 117). 23.

(31) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. has chosen the materials carefully for his documentation (Thucydides, 1959b, p. 13). One can easily find out that the entire The Peloponnesian War is themed around the opposition between the Spartan and Athenian camps in the 5 th century B.C. From his insistence of being a scrupulous historian, he gives his readers a preliminary message concerning how his accounts are Realist: he emphasizes on the reality instead of the ideal. Being a historian, he naturally paid more attention to historical facts than. 政治大. normative ideas. What is real is real. Even though it may sound tautological, this. 立. concept is actually important in unraveling the core essence of Realism, especially. ‧ 國. 學. here for the Thucydidean tradition.. ‧. Filled with numerous speeches8, notwithstanding the authenticity is questionable,. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Thucydides‟ The Peloponnesian War conveys a principal belief for Realists‟ theory building: what actually happened matters. “Thucydides was obsessed with the need to. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. probe beyond deceptive appearances and to reveal forces that, though often hidden, nevertheless drove events. … Thucydides wanted to study the “real world” and was thus a “realist”” (Crane, 1998, p. 37). According to Crane, it is the fact that Thucydides wanted to study the “real world” makes him literally a Realist vis-à-vis an Idealist 9 . Putting an emphasis, sometimes exclusively, on the reality over the normative ideas is a very fundamental factor to discern a Realist account. We don‟t 8 9. Except for the Book VIII which he didn‟t have a chance to finish it. See Carr (1956) for a better understanding of the contrasting idea between Realism and Idealism. 24.

(32) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. know if Thucydides has consciously selected certain events and speeches to document or he has been just as impartial as he could have10. But what we do know from that is that he distinguishes and puts an emphasis on the disjunction between the reality and the ideal11. Besides, Thucydides is not only seen as a historian dedicated to document the history discreetly, he has also been accredited as the first historian who attempted to reveal the true casual relations in the progress of historical events (Xie, 2000, pp.. 政治大. 17-19). This stance shed light on the positivist tint in Realism－a theoretical approach. 立. looking for casual relations from accounts of what it is instead of what it should be.. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Power Determinism. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. The sharp contrast between the reality and the ideal has often, although not. n. always correctly, been argued for asserting the deterministic role played by power in. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. the realm of international affairs over the elusive moral principles by some Realists. Thucydides‟ tragic ontology12 simply means that “the reality” is not only irresistible but also inevitable. The inconsistence between the reality and the conventional moral. 10. Thucydides‟ objectivity as a scientific realist historian has been questioned (Crane, 1998, pp. 40-48). For example, Thucydides has specifically pointed out that some agreements or accords were not observed by the parties. Instead, those agreements and accords were constantly broken by the parties out of expediency. The craft that the Plataeans pulled on Thebans is a bloody instance. Not only the Plataeans pulled a cunning scheme on the Thebans, they even broke their vow and slew all their Theban prisoners (Thucydides, 1959b, pp. 91-93). 12 His ontology is basically fundamentalist. Fundamentalists believe that there are some things actually exist out there in this world, such as “the reality” in Thucydides‟ philosophy as well as in most Realists‟ accounts. On the contrary, the anti-fundamentalist would argue that there are no such things which actually and concretely exist in this world. The interpretists can be categorized into the camp of anti-fundamentalists. 25 11.

(33) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. principles implies the decisive role of power in the international relations. At least this is what we have often been told. To scholars who hold the commonsense Realism, Thucydides‟ work The Peloponnesian War is of no doubt the typical literature illustrating power determinism, especially in the epic narration of the Melian Dialogue. The naked coercive nature of power is demonstrated plainly in numerous condescending sentences addressed by the. 政治大. Athenian envoy such as the famous dictum“… in human disputation justice is then. 立. only agreed on when the necessity is equal; whereas they that have odds of power. ‧ 國. 學. exact as much as they can, and the weak yield to such conditions as they can get”. ‧. (Thucydides, 1959a, p. 365). In other words, the Melian Dialogues gives the message. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. that power determines justice. The strong can do whatever they are able to do to the. n. weak whereas the weak have to accept what they have to. The Athenians tried to make. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. the Melos realize that a dire destruction would be incurred upon the Melos if they counted on frail and intangible beliefs. Having faith in moral conventions (such as just, bond between allies, and glory) and expecting the Lacedaemonians would dash to rescue them from the Athenians‟ invasion, Melos insisted not to succumb under the Athenians. But the miserable outcome of the Melos shows how despotic the rule of power is in international relations. Until today, the Melian Dialogue “remains the starting point of discussion about the relative role of ethics and interests”, according 26.

(34) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. to Lebow (2003, p. 26). It could also be argued that the idea of power determinism is present not only in the Melian Dialogue but also many times in other parts in The Peloponnesian War. For instance, in book I, after the Corinthians accused the Athenians of besieging its colony Potidaea and requested the Lacedaemonians to declare war against the Athenians, the Athenian representative defended themselves like so: “it hath been ever. 政治大. a thing fixed for the weaker to be kept under by the stronger” (Thucydides, 1959b, p.. 立. 44). In order to justify their doing of military suppression, the Athenians appealed to. ‧ 國. 學. the preexisting rule of power and claim its normalcy. Many passages could be easily. ‧. cited to endorse power determinism.. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. For commonsense Realists, power is absolutely the most defining characteristic. n. of Realism. It is worth noting that Jack Donnelly equalizes Political Realism with. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. power politics (Donnelly, 2000, p. 6n). However, since the original aspiration of this thesis is to unravel the richness and diversity in Realism‟s tradition, I have to disagree with this oversimplified definition. At least four traditions, as proposed previously, are there suggesting the plurality in interpreting Realism. To our misfortune is that the important role played by many of them are either omitted or neglected by writers of international relations who hold a commonsense understating of Realism. Commonsense Realism simplifies theoretical content of the school of Realism into a 27.

(35) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. dominating version of Realism which emphasizes the role of power to an almost paranoid extent. The struggle of power indeed is a very important aspect in the realm of international affairs but power per se can hardly define this immense family of Realist scholarship. Power may be at most seen as an important explanatory factor of behaviors in a Realist setting, but what makes power so indispensible in this school of theoretical thoughts is more important than power per se. In other words, though we. 政治大. can find a vast array of passages suggesting power determinism in Thucydides‟ The. 立. Peloponnesian War, it does not define his theoretical legacies. Power is a way of. ‧ 國. 學. application of Thucydides‟ Realism as well as of other traditional inaugurators‟.. ‧ y. Nat. er. io. al. sit. Stasis vis-à-vis Homonoia. n. Although the role of power and the theory of balance of power (which will be. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. discussed shortly) are two popularly recognized elements of Thucydides‟ Realism in his work The Peloponnesian War, they are believed as auxiliary points in Thucydides‟ argument of stasis. The differentiation of real world from the normative discourses (or, ideal world) gives rise to the important role of power and consequently to the theory of balance of power. As Crane quotes, T. L. Knutsen suggests that “Thucydides depicts a condition in which power wields the ultimate authority in relations among states, so that „the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what 28.

(36) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. they have to accept‟” (Crane, 1998, p. 63). However, the “real world” does not only have one invariable side. Within the context of his time, Thucydides discerns in depth the diverse nature between usual times and tumultuous times. The distinguishing trait of Thucydides‟ Political Realism is that it emphasizes on the conditions of being in a time of stasis (a turbulent time, a war, a civil war, a revolution, or a factional violence) 13. A time of stasis is basically a time of instability,. 政治大. antagonism, insurrection and turmoil. In contrast, when people are in times of. 立. homonoia (which literally means being of one mind together) people construct their. ‧ 國. 學. identity as members of the same community14. As it will be shown, Thucydides. ‧. reveals clear awareness of that the situation of being at a stasis is vastly different from. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. that of homonoia.. n. Although stasis vis-à-vis homonoia is a rather difficult word to define in modern. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. language 15, an excerpt from Constantinou can give readers a fine hint about its conceptual contour. Constantinou suggests that the ancient Greek stasis “acquired the exclusive sense of destructive factionalism and insurrection, in the process idealizing the polis as a harmonious whole that had universal and permanent interests” 13. “In discursive terms, this means that stasis … acquired the exclusive sense of destructive factionalism and insurrection, in the process idealizing the polis as a harmonious whole that had universal and permanent interests. Within such idealization, homonoia, concord or same-mindedness, became a prime political principle and stasis got linked exclusively to dichonoia, or apart-mindedness, whose end result was the destruction of the polis. Stasis acquired the sense of a political disease (nosos) that could be located not only in the assembly but also in language („the sedition of names‟ in Thucydides that cause wars)” (Constantinou, 2004, p. 8). 14 The Aristotelian tint in Thucydides‟ accounts is herein shown. 15 For a more comprehensive and elaborative discussion, see Constantinou (2004). 29.

(37) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. (Constantinou, 2004, p. 8). Also, he makes a contrast of it with the idea of homonoia: “Within such idealization, homonoia, concord or same-mindedness, became a prime political principle and stasis got linked exclusive to dichomoia, or apart-mindedness, whose end result was the destruction of the polis” (Constantinou, 2004, p. 8). Hence, the ideas of stasis and homonoia are obviously in opposing positions. Therefore, a time of stasis basically means a process of disintegration of a community where. 政治大. people share same principles and norms.. 立. In times of stasis, norms and conventions, social or religious, are ignored and. ‧ 國. 學. violated, not to mention when plagues and famines are both rampant as well. ‧. (Thucydides, 1959b, pp. 118-119). “By removing the constraints and obligations. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. arising from convention, stasis encouraged expression of the worst human impulses”. n. (Lebow, 2003, p. 145). The sense of homonoia (being in a community) vanishes.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. People do not feel connected with others anymore. Macro-structural forces of stasis draw people‟s unrestrained passions out. The want for superior values such as love, glory, or justice in one‟s life is overshadowed and overwhelmed by the need of self-preservation. “And the common course of life being at that time confounded in the city, the nature of man, which is wont even against law to do evil, gotten now above the law, show itself with delight to be too weak for passion, too strong for justice” (Thucydides, 1959b, pp. 206-207). Expediency is hailed. Morality is 30.

(38) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. meaningless in such a chaotic situation and the paramount goal of a man wherein, and reflectively as for a nation, is to survive. The basic trust for fundamental moral bindings perishes away with all expedient deeds unleashed. “All of which enable us to state to cardinal calamity of stasis: trust disappear from society, and with it society itself. Stasis destroys nothing less than the infrastructure of civil trust” (Orwin, 1988, p. 837). Thus, ultimately, moral conventions lose their foothold to stand on. Expedient. 政治大. deeds such as struggle for power come into play to a much more substantial extent. 立. than before. This is “the reality” of being in times of stasis and it is “the reality” in. ‧ 國. 學. Thucydides‟ The Peloponnesian War.. ‧. Different form St. Augustine (whom will be discussed in the next chapter) who. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. posits the corruption of human nature, Thucydides illustrates how human beings are. n. capable of doing morally horrible deeds in situations of extreme. As we shall therefore. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. see, the real concern of Thucydides is the transformative force of extraordinary situations. Scholars even make a bolder extrapolation saying that “phusis16 varie[s] according to the environment” (Lebow, 2003, p. 145). In times of peace, and when people are connected to each other, there is no threat to their lives and property, ethical conventions are generally adhered. The attraction of expedient thoughts such as to struggle for power is relatively small. To a certain extent, power even yields way. 16. Phusis is a Greek word often translated into English as “nature.” 31.

(39) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. to moral principles in the time of homonoia. When the wildest passions are in check by the moral conventions, the deterministic authority of power is limited. In other words, people do not always struggle for power. As Lebow pertinently points out, morality has never been left behind, only the worst part of human nature are given a free rein to dominate in a time of stasis (2003, p. 145). Macleod also notes that, for Thucydides, “in stasis as in war, human nature is revealed” (1979, p. 52) 17 .. 政治大. Furthermore, not only the dark side of human nature is unveiled, extreme conditions. 立. of stasis are also prone to distort human nature to an even more abhorrent degree.. ‧ 國. 學. “Difficult times, no less than good times, shape men in their image. War creates. ‧. violent passions as much as it release them” (Donnelly, 2000, p. 72).. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. In this regard, the Melian Dialogue is a piece of material that helps Thucydides. n. illustrate the argument of stasis vis-à-vis homonoia. After all, the uncovered. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. arbitrariness of power is revealed in the dialogue between the Athenian and the Melian representative instead of in Thucydides‟ own remarks (Donnelly, 2000, p. 24). The Melian Dialogue is, from this point, merely recounted as a piece of reflection of the tumultuous time of stasis. Lebow also shows a disagreement against the popular interpretation of the Melian Dialogue:. 17. Quoted from Donnelly (2000, p. 72). 32.

(40) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. “To maintain its hēgemonia [hegemony] Athens had to act in accord with the principles and values that it espoused, and offer positive political and economic benefits to allies. Post-Periclean leaders consistently chose power over principle, and, by doing so, alienated allies and third parties, lost hēgemonia and weakened Athens’ power base. Viewed in this light, the Melian Dialogue and the Sicilian expedition are radical departures from rational self-interest.” (Lebow, 2003, p. 126) As revealed in the excerpt above, it is to general readers‟ surprise that Lebow interprets the Melian Dialogue and the Sicilian expedition as irrational behaviors conducted by Athens. However, if a scenario has been pictured, one may find it is. 政治大 difficult to define the so-called “rational doings” during a time of stasis. “The 立. ‧ 國. 學. received value of names imposed for signification of things was changed into arbitrary.. ‧. For inconsiderate boldness was counted true-hearted manliness…” (Thucydides,. sit. y. Nat. 1959b, p. 204). It was the passion aroused during such an era of wildness caused the. n. al. er. io. whole irrationality which was considered not only rational but also honorable by the. Ch. i n U. v. public in the time being, as Thucydides implies in The Peloponnesian War (1959b, p.. engchi. 207). Desires for whether aggrandizement, glory, or interest in terms of power were driven by the unusual atmosphere of the fervent era. This rationale of explaining the disregard of moral conventions constitutes the core idea of Thucydides‟ Realism.. Balance of Power Many scholars recognize Thucydides as a Realist because of his accounts of the. 33.

(41) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. cause of the Peloponnesian War. However, Thucydides‟ accounts on the cause of the war are not as it seems to be so ostensibly clear. On one hand, in the Book I of his work The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides straightforwardly attributes the rise of Athenian power as the truest reason: “the truest [cause], though least in speech, I conceive to be the growth of the Athenian power, which putting the Lacedaemonians into fear necessitated the war” (Thucydides, 1959b, pp. p14-15). On the other hand,. 政治大. he also suggests that if only Pericles had survived the plague, things wound be. 立. completely different (Thucydides, 1959b, p. 125). Therefore, scholars like Lebow. ‧ 國. 學. (2003, pp. 65-96) maintains that the agential factor composes a significant part of the. ‧. real cause which Thucydides actually implies behind his remarks. So what‟s the real. y. Nat. er. io. sit. intent of Thucydides, besides the fact that we know he admires Pericles‟ reign in Athens18? Sure if Thucydides had the chance to finish his The Peloponnesian War and. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. made few more commentaries, we might probably have a better chance to grasp his real intent. Unluckily, he didn‟t. Between the structure force and the agential force, The Peloponnesian War is open to interpretations. However, to characterize Thucydides‟ Realist accounts with the theory of balance of power is somehow problematic. The theory of balance of power roots in power determinism. As a result, to characterize Thucydides‟ Realist philosophy by theory of. 18. “… in his [Pericles‟] time it [Athens] was at the greatest” (Thucydides, 1959b, p. 125) 34.

(42) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. balance of power is actually the same as to characterize it by power determinism. Insofar as this thesis has indicated, Thucydides clearly distinguishes the disparity between time of stasis and homonoia. Power currency may probably have its unrivaled value during unusual times. But during usual times of peace, when citizens are in homonoia, moral principles are more likely outweigh expedient measures which means that power currency would subject to limitations. Therefore, the concept of. 政治大. balance of power also has to be applied within the idea framework of the disparity. 立. between stasis and homonoia. Applying internationally, power does not always matter. ‧ 國. 學. to a nation-state. Consequently as it has been shown, it is not only ambiguous but also. ‧. intrinsically-flawed to argue Thucydides‟ distinguishing Realist feature in terms of the. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. cause of war.. n. Furthermore, there is a fallacy in characterizing The Peloponnesian War with the. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. theory of balance of power. In order to have theory of balance of power work, the security dilemma has to come into existence beforehand. Simply put, fear is the catalyst for the whole chemistry of balance of power to take place. As Lebow points out, on the side of Lacedaemonians, the fear of war is not the reason for going to war, at least not the major one (2003, pp. 66-67). They went to war because of the miscalculation of leaders, the inexperience of the young soldiers, and the vain glory, but not fear (Lebow, 2003, p. 85). In other words, the causes of the war for the 35.

(43) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Lacedaemonians were the misjudgment of leaders, the want of glory, and the threat on their identity instead of security (Lebow, 2003, pp. 83-86). In this perspective, the formation of a security-dilemma-induced war lacks for its key prerequisite, fear. Therefore, it would be fallacious in deduction to attribute the Peloponnesian War as an outcome of balance of power.. Thucydides’ Realism. 立. 政治大. Insofar as the revisionary interpretation has made on Thucydides‟ masterpiece. ‧ 國. 學. The Peloponnesian War, few points concerning how this thesis sees Thucydides as a. ‧. Realist call for another clarification. Thucydides‟ Realist trait is contributed mainly. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. from his realism (with a lowercase r). What so important to bring up this distinction. n. between realism and Realism lays on the common misinterpretation on Thucydides by. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. many Realist scholars. Besides the idea of stasis, the idea of the disjunction between the reality and the morality is another crucial idea which goes through this entire chapter. There are two diverse levels while speaking of the reality in this thesis. The first one level of reality is actually a convenient term of calling which indicates immorality, amorality, or political morality which signifies the renunciation of conventional morality and the arbitrary domination of power. The first level of reality indicates the presence or adoption of Realist measures which are conducted out of 36.

(44) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. expediency. Generally, this is the level of the Realism regarded by mainstream Realist writers of international relations. The reality which actually concerns Thucydides is the second-level reality. Different from the first level, this level of reality concerns the state or quality of being real. It concerns what literally exists or have existed. It is historical facts that this level of reality is about. It is important to note that in the most part of The Peloponnesian. 政治大. War, Thucydides is a realist of the second level instead of the first level. His argument. 立. of stasis is closely connected to this clarification. What Thucydides saw during his. ‧ 國. 學. time is a reality of stasis. He saw the disjunction between the reality (the first level). ‧. and the morality and he respects the fact while documenting the reality (the second. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. level). Therefore, even though the expedient measures are suspended and renounced. n. and moral ideas are hailed back (in other word, in homonoia), it is still a fact of. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. second-level reality. This stance does not necessary clarify Thucydides as a pour historian documenting history objectively but it clarifies the actual meaning of Thucydides being a realist as well as one of the traditional inaugurators of Realism. It is his realism that lays the cornerstone for later Realists. Contrasting Thucydides and the commonsense scholars who misunderstood him, a question could be simply asked: Does the state of stasis (or in language of Hobbes, if one prefers, state of nature) last permanently? Obviously as the notion of stasis 37.

(45) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. vis-à-vis homonoia, Thucydides would simply answer “no.” A war ends, and people go back to the community where they find each other connected and observe their shared norms. However, many Realists argue that the state of war does not come to an end. And reasonably they argue that being in times of peace means in preparation of the next war. As a result, a point of distinction between Thucydides and those Realists could be thus rendered.. 政治大. Another clarification here to make also springs from the same idea, the. 立. disjunction between the reality and the morality. As we have discussed the actual. ‧ 國. 學. meaning of the reality, the actual meaning of the morality also needs a deeper. ‧. discussion to penetrate its veneer of generality. Being a realist of the second level,. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. Thucydides‟ does not regard the morality as the absolute moral standard of what is. n. right and what is wrong which applies trans-culturally. In other words, it is not a set of. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. pure standards which can judge the pure value of individual deeds. Instead, it is the conventional norms and values shared by people who live in a same community. Moral conventions, precisely in the communitarians‟ term, or say, ethics, in others‟, are actually one of Thucydides‟ concerns in The Peloponnesian War. Though Thucydides is a historian, we know that he cannot be completely objective in documenting history. Being a realist means to respect the historical facts, but where is Thucydides the political theorist? Since the moral principles which he 38.

(46) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. refers to are culture-specific norms shared by people in a same community, can we have Thucydides‟ real opinion concerning the moral nature of the Peloponnesian War? Thucydides does not comment on the Peloponnesian War about its moral nature. Throughout the entire text of The Peloponnesian War, we can hardly find a passage commented by Thucydides himself clearly telling us if one event is morally right or wrong. However, this professed objectivity seems somehow susceptible. It is believed. 政治大. that Thucydides shows his political stance by not commenting the moral value of. 立. events. When heinous deeds were committed by the Athenians or the Lacedaemonians,. ‧ 國. 學. they were driven by the disorientating force and the political necessity of the situation.. ‧. Their immoral doings were actually political moral. Thucydides tells us this by not. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. judging the absolute moral value of one single event and by depicting the whole. n. scenario realistically as a fact. Leaving out pure moral judgments, Thucydides instead. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. states his perspectives more strongly. And that is one of the many paths that Thucydides can be suitably linked to Realists. What Thucydides provides is the backdrop surrounding for Realists to develop their perspectives on moral principles. More discussions concerning Realist morality will be discussed in chapter 4. Nevertheless, a careful reader could grasp his Political Realism from his realist allusions instead of bluntly extracting seemingly-relevant passages from his accounts to claim a dull and dogmatic commonsense Realism. 39.

(47) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. Succession Having all the elements above considered, we have at least two basic standards to look for modern Realists who can be categorized as Thucydidean successors. A Thucydidean Realist, based on the acknowledgement presented, should distinguish, or show features of distinguishing, between the reality and moral conventions. In the meanwhile, he is also expected to show features of acknowledging the significance of. 政治大. situational factors in explaining Realist doings, namely, taking on the idea of stasis. 立. argument.. ‧ 國. 學. Edward Hallett Carr‟s (AC 1892-1982) classic The Twenty Years Crisis:. ‧. 1919-1939 (1956) meets the former term remarkably. Carr has set up a model to. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. illustrate Thucydides‟ realism exemplarily with his relentless critics on the. n. traditionalist and moralists, or say, according to Carr, the utopian Idealists for naively. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. adhering illusive traditional moral beliefs. The Twenty Years Crisis by Carr is a noteworthy case to illustrate how the disillusion of the disjunction between reality and ideal morality has been recognized by modern Realist scholars. However, differentiating the reality from moral conventions is basically the fundamental attitude shared by almost every Realist, if he would be so called as one. So basically the first criterion for sieving out Thucydidean realists from all modern realists in the realm of international affairs is not significantly helpful (but it has another important role 40.

(48) Chin-Jang Liu (劉金讓) Realist Traditions. played in Realism which will be discussed later). Furthermore, Carr‟s accounts demonstrate little relevance to the idea of stasis. Hence, we cannot satisfying call him a Thucydidean Realist though he sure has inherited Thucydides‟ legacy. But his work is a good example showing how Thucydides‟ realism can be succeeded. Other contemporary Realists have also more or less inherited Thucydides‟ realism but their work does not reflect this philosophical stance as clear as Carr‟s.. 政治大. Unsurprisingly, the first standard is easily met yet candidates for the latter leave. 立. inconspicuous track to be spotted in general theorists‟ accounts. Therefore, the task of. ‧ 國. 學. singling out Thucydides‟ successors means primarily to find out whether one shows. ‧. connection with Thucydides‟ argument of stasis. Among all the Realist theorists after. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. to be considered.. sit. Thucydides, Thomas Hobbes stands out as the most important and interesting figure. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Although a discussion focusing on the Realist tradition led by Thomas Hobbes will be addressed in chapter 5, a brief comparative remark here would be beneficial and actually indispensible for the search for Thucydides successors. The assumption of state of nature is the most distinct elements in Hobbes‟ theoretical buildings. More than just being novel, it actually characterizes his Realist insights. However, although most would find it of very much originality in the realm of international theory, this thesis believes that Hobbes actually owns a great debt to Thucydides in forging this 41.