1. Introduction
This paper is going to identify a particular theory that is embedded in Thucydides’s description of the Peloponnesian war. It is safe to say that the theory of realism goes hand in hand with Thucydides’s account of the Peloponnesian war. The reason why this paper is going to argue that motion is because if one takes a closer look at the characteristics of the theory of realism – which argues that states are the sole actors in the world of politics – and goes on to compare them to Thucydides’s account of the Peloponnesian war, one is bound to note very close similarities. Apart from elaborating the theory of realism as per Thucydides’s account, this essay is on a mission to also expose the antagonism that exists between the theory of realism and other international relations theories such as classical liberalism, functionalism, pluralism, Marxism, idealism and federalism.
2. Concepts
2.1. Realism
Realism is grounded in an emphasis on power politics and the quest of national interests. Its fundamental conjecture is that the state is the key actor on the world stage, and being autonomous, is able to act as a self-ruling body. The theory highlight that, in contrast, as there is no higher authority than the sovereign state, international politics is conducted in a ‘state of nature’, and is thus categorized by anarchy, not harmony (Heywood, 2007:130).
2.2. Classical Liberalism
Liberalism is a political ideology whose core principle is individualism, it also advocates for a state to be governed by a constitutional and representative government. It denounces all forms of government interference. It reflects conviction in the absolute importance of the human individual as opposed to any social group or collective body. Human beings are seen primarily as individuals. The liberal aspiration is thus to create a society within which individuals can thrive and develop to the greatest of their abilities (Heywood, 2007:45-46).
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2.3. Functionalism
Functionalism advocates for the formation of a new world order in which the sovereign state does not take centre stage. The theory advocates for the creation of new states by the integration of existing states, generally on a regional basis and possibly, in the long run, to the creation of a single world state (Brown, 1997:133-134).
2.4. Pluralism
Pluralism is a socio-political theory that gives emphasis to the distribution of power amongst a number of competing bodies or groups. As a theory of international politics, it highlights the permeability of the state, and provides an option to the state-centrism of the realist model (Heywood, 2007:131).
2.5. Idealism
The central characteristic of idealism is that it views international politics from the perception of moral ethics and legal norms. It is concerned less with pragmatic analysis (that is, with how international actors behave) than with normative judgements (that is, with how they should behave) (Heywood, 2007:128).
2.6. Federalism
Federalism is a school of thought that advocates for the unification of previously sovereign states into a single universal integrated federal union. Federalists follow the conviction of Albert Einstein that there is no salvation for civilization, or even the human race, other than the creation of a world government (Kegley, 2007:564).
2.7. Marxism
Marxism offers a viewpoint on international politics that contrasts sharply with conventional paradigms. Marxism approach is distinctive because of its stress on economic power and the role played by international capital. Marxism advances a theory of horizontal organization based on international class (Heywood, 2007:132).
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3. Thucydides’s war description and the theory of Realism
Nye (2007:12) states that Thucydides is the founding father of realism thereby one may then argue that the theory of international relations embedded in Thucydides’s explanation of the Peloponnesian war is realism.
Kegley (2007:504) states that alliances generally form when two or more states face a common security threat. These formal agreements among states are done to manage their behaviour by heeding realism’s first rule of statecraft: to boost military capabilities. By acquiring allies, states intensify their mutual armaments, which, when facing a common threat, provides them with the means of reducing their likelihood of being attacked, obtaining greater strength in case of attack, while precluding their allies from coalition with the enemy.
The above paragraph can be related to Thucydides’s account of the Peloponnesian war because Nye (2007:12) states that in the fifth century Athens and Sparta were allies that had cooperated to defeat the Persian Empire. Athens also formed the Delian League, an alliance of states around the Aegean Sea, for mutual protection against the Persians. The reason of the alliance of these states then goes to suggest that Thucydides’s account of the war was influenced by realist school of thought.
According to Kegley (2007:505) realists argue that states should have no perpetual allies and no long-lasting enemies. Their only obligation is to follow their interests and whenever possible to rely on self-help. This can be related to Thucydides’s account of the war when he states that though Athens was in an agreement with Sparta it did not solely rely on that agreement but rather it had 50 years of growth that led to the development of its empire (Athenian empire) (Nye, 2007:12).
Kegley (2007:505) states that realists argue that the maximum risk to forming alliances is that they bind a state to a pledge that may later become detrimental. Realists go even further to emphasize that agreements with other states can be dishonoured if the survival of the state is at threat. This can also be found in Thucydides’s account when Athens failed to honour its treaty with Corinth. Athens knew that if Corinth was to conquer Corcyra and take control of its large navy, the balance of power among the Greek states would be tipped not in favour of Athens (Nye, 2007:14).
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Realists emphasize that, in contrast, as there is no higher authority than the sovereign state, international politics is conducted in a ‘state of nature’, and is thus characterized by anarchy, not harmony. An anarchic international system is one in which each state is forced to help itself and give precedence to its own national interest, defined, in essence, as state survival and territorial defence. Realists are adamant that the pattern of conflict and cooperation within the state system conforms mostly to the requirements of a balance of power. In pursuit of national security, states enter into alliances that, if balanced against one another, may guarantee long-lasting periods of peace and international stability (Heywood, 2007:130).
Realists have always recognized that the international order is not a typical ‘state of nature’, because power, wealth and resources are not evenly spread amongst states (Heywood, 2007:130).
4. Other views of world politics
Realism have attracted ferocious criticism from a number of school of thought among them are liberalism, functionalism, pluralism, Marxism, idealism and federalism. The fundamental objection is that, in divorcing politics from morality, the realist standpoint legitimizes military intensification and the hegemonic ambitions of great powers. This view suggests that power politics has not so much maintained peace as kept the world on the brink of nuclear cataclysm (Heywood, 2007:131).
Another critique of realism is advanced by feminist theorists, who challenge that power-seeking behaviour and an obsession with national security and military might replicate the worldwide dominance of male politicians whose priorities are essentially violent and bloodthirsty. The central empirical weakness of realist theories is that, in focusing attention on the states as the dominant international actor, they have ignored the pluralistic tendencies that reshaped the face of international politics in the late twentieth century (Heywood, 2007:131).
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4.1. Liberalism
Individualism is the core principle of liberal ideology. It reflects a belief in the utmost importance of the human individual as opposed to any social group or collective body. Human beings are seen, first and foremost, as individuals. This implies both that they are of equivalent moral value and that they posses separate and unique identities. The main liberal objective is therefore to put up a society within which individuals can thrive and develop, each pursuing ‘the good’ as he or she defines it, to the best of his or her ability (Heywood, 2007:45-46).
While liberals perceive government as a vital guarantee of order and stability in society, they are always aware of the danger that government may become an oppressor against the individual. Liberals consider that the world has a rational structure, and that this can be exposed through the exercise of human reason and by critical enquiry. This inclines them to place their trust in the ability of individuals to make sensible judgements on their own behalf, being, in most cases, the best judges of their own good. The liberal dogma is against absolutism and feudal privilege, instead advocating constitutional and, later, representative government. In its extreme form, this ideology condemns all forms of government intervention (Heywood, 2007:46).
4.2. Pluralism
The pluralist perspective on international politics emerged, particularly in the USA, in the 1960s and 1970. This theory emphasizes the dispersion of power between a number of competing bodies or groups. It highlights the permeability of the state, and provides an option to the state-centrism of the realist model. The limitations of the state-centric approach were illustrated by John Burton’s (1972) metaphor of the billiard table. He suggested that realism assumes that states, like billiard balls, are impervious and self-reliant units, which manipulate each other through external pressure. Sovereign states interacting in a system of international anarchy are thus seen to behave like a collection of billiard balls moving over the table and colliding with other balls. According to pluralists, this simile distorts international politics in that it both ignores the degree to which influence is increasingly exerted by transnational actors such as multinational corporations (MNCs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and fails to recognize the interdependence of states, especially in relation to economic affairs (Heywood, 2007:131-132).
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The resulting pluralist standpoint therefore offers a mixed-actors model that, while not ignoring national governments, emphasizes that international politics is shaped by a much broader range of interests and groups. At the very least, the emphasis on external sovereignty that is central to realism has to be replaced, in this view, by the more modest notion of autonomy. Given its emphasis on the diffusion of power, the pluralist model calls the very notion of an autonomous actor into question, emphasizing that all actors (government and nongovernmental) operate within a framework of checks and constraints that inhibit independent movement (Heywood, 2007:132).
4.3. Functionalism
Functionalism is a unique set of ideas, parallel in scope to realism, but, unlike realism, it has little contact with past diplomatic tradition. This theory argues that a ‘working peace system’ could only be constructed from the bottom-up, by encouraging forms of cooperation which bypassed the issue of formal sovereignty but instead gradually reduced the capacity of states to actually act as sovereigns. Two formulae here summarise the argument – ‘form follows function’ and ‘peace in parts’ (Brown, 1997:130).
According to the functionalists, technical experts, talking to one another all over the world in their area of specialization as members of epistemic communities, rather than as trained diplomats, are the best agents for building mutual links across national interests at the expense of collective human interests (Kegley, 2007:567).
4.4. Marxism
Marxism offers a point of view on international politics that contrasts with conservative paradigms among them is realism. What makes the Marxist approach unique is its stress on economic power and the role played by international capital. Although Marx was apprehensive mostly with analysing the structures of national capitalism, and particularly the hostile relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, an internationalist perspective was embedded in his work. This was evident in Marx’s acknowledgment that class loyalties cut across national divisions, which enabled him to stress the significance of all workers of the world to unite (Heywood, 2007:132).
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Whereas the realist theory embrace that power is organized vertically, reflecting the division of the world into independent states, Marxism advances a theory of horizontal organisation based on international class (Heywood, 2007:132).
4.5. Idealism
The central characteristic of idealism is that it views international politics from the viewpoint of moral values and legal norms. It is concerned less with empirical analysis – that is, with how international actors behave – than with normative judgements (that is, with how they should behave) (Heywood, 2007:128).
Unlike realists who argue that war is inevitable, scholars of the idealism theory disagree that war can be defensible only if three conditions are met. First, it has to be declared by a leader who has the power to do so. Second, the basis that the war is fought for has to be just in the sense that it avenges a wrong. Third, the objective of just belligerence has to be to attain good or avoid evil, not to give vent to greed or cruelty. Immanuel Kant developed what amounted to an early vision of world government. In his view, morality and reason combined to dictate that there should be no war, the future of humankind being based on the view of universal and lasting peace (Heywood, 2007:128-129).
Most forms of idealism are underpinned by internationalism: that is, the principle that human affairs should be prearranged according to universal and not simply national, principles. This, in turn, is usually reflected in the assumption that human affairs, on both the domestic and international levels, are characterized by harmony and cooperation (Heywood, 2007:129).
4.6. Federalism
Federalists explain that if people value an absolute gain such as humanity’s survival more highly than relative gains such as an individual state’s national advantage over its rivals, they will willingly shift their loyalty to a supranational authority to dismantle the anarchical system of competitive territorial states that produces war. They argue that world government is not only possible, but rather it is expected because it appeals to the loyalty of people who love their national heritage so deeply that they wish to safeguard them in safety for the common good (Kegley, 2007:565).
Passionate adherents to nationalism such as realists strongly attacks the revolutionary federalist ‘top-down’ peace plan because it seeks to undermine the system of sovereign states, federalism threatens many entrenched interests. Many of the globe’s 29,807 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are sympathetic to peace plans that seek to reduce the capability of states to make wars (Kegley, 2007:566).
5. Concluding Remarks
This paper has managed to defend its position in stating that Thucydides’s account of the Peloponnesian war is influenced by the theory of realism. The core principle of realism (a state is a sole actor in the world of politics and should rely on self-help at all times) is also found in the narrative of Thucydides war of Peloponnesian when he mentions that Athens spent 50 years strengthening its state against possible attacks. Even though that might be the case, it ought to be mentioned that there has never been and will never be one theory of international relations which all scholars will agree upon as the most effective in dealing with the all possible shortcomings of global politics, hence this essay has put across a number of other antagonistic theories to realism. One has to note that some theories of international relations do share similar attributes though their core principle may differ significantly.
6. Bibliography
Brown, C., 1997. Understanding International Relations. Macmillan Press LTD, Houndmills.
Heywood, A., 2007. Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Kegley, C.W., 2007. World Politics: Trend and Transformation. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont USA.
Nye, J.S., 2007. (sixth edition), Understanding International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory and History. Longman, New York.
