Hans Morgenthau

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Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 - July 19, 1980) was an International Relations theorist and one of the most influential ones to date. He was born in Coburg, Germany, and educated at the universities of Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. He taught and practiced law in Frankfurt before going to the United States in 1937, where he became professor at the University of Chicago. Along with Edward Carr, he is one of the main authors of the realist school. This school of thought thinks that nation-states are the main actors in International Relations, and that the main concern of the field is the study of power.

His book Politics among Nations literally defined the IR field in 1948 as it heralded the post–World War II paradigm shift in American thinking about diplomacy, as it emphasised the power interests. The period before WW II was on the other hand defined by idealism that focused on values.

1 Principles of political realism
2 Quotations
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] Principles of political realism

Morgenthau formulated the principles of political realism in his book Politics Among Nations.^[1] These principles form the base of realism:

Politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature, which is unchanging: therefore it is possible to develop a rational theory that reflects these objective laws.
The main signpost of political realism is the concept of interest defined in terms of power which infuses rational order into the subject matter of politics, and thus makes the theoretical understanding of politics possible. Political realism stresses the rational, objective and unemotional.
Realism assumes that interest defined as power is an objective category which is universally valid but not with a meaning that is fixed once and for all. Power is the control of man over man and takes many forms beyond physical, hard power.
Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the tension between moral command and the requirements of successful political action. Realism is therefore amoral, not immoral.
The concept of realists circles around the term of power, which is a means to an end.
Political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the moral laws that govern the universe. It is the concept of interest defined in terms of power that saves us from the moral excess and political folly.
The political realist maintains the autonomy of the political sphere. He asks "How will this policy affect the power of the nation?" Political realism is based on a pluralistic conception of human nature. A man who was nothing but "political man" would be a beast, for he would be completely lacking in moral restraints. But, in order to develop an autonomous theory of political behavior, "political man" must be abstracted from other aspects of human nature.

[edit] Quotations

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Hans Morgenthau

"The statesman must think in terms of the national interest, conceived as power among other powers. The popular mind, unaware of the fine distinctions of the statesman’s thinking, reasons more often than not in the simple moralistic and legalistic terms of absolute good and absolute evil."^[2]

[edit] Bibliography

Scientific Man Versus Power Politics (1946) Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Politics Among Nations. The Struggle for Power and Peace (1948) New York NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
In Defense of the National Interest (1951) New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
The Purpose of American Politics (1960) New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Crossroad Papers: A Look Into the American Future (ed.) (1965) New York, NY: Norton.
Truth and Power: Essays of a Decade, 1960-70 (1970) New York, NY: Praeger.
Coauthor with David Hein. Essays on Lincoln's Faith and Politics. (1983) Lanham, MD: Univ. Press of America for the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the Univ. of Virginia.

[edit] References

^ Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, Fifth Edition, Revised, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, pp. 4-15.
^ Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Thompson, Politics Among Nations, 6th edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985), p. 165.