Political Theory and International Relations - Essay Example

ical Political Theory Introduction Thucydides and Machiavelli were the historians who became popular due to their writings which reflected the historic and political concepts. The United States of America has gone through a drastic change in terms of political as well as systematic concepts. The reason for such change is the writings of people who created the history of America. This paper describes the reason for the influence of historic and political context of Thucydides and Machiavelli in their writings. They were considered to be the fore fathers of political history which contributed to the growth of various nations. Contemporary foreign policies and the disregard for law were the reflections of the Thucydides and Machiavelli’s political powers and their emphasis on the US foreign policies. They wanted to carve a niche for themselves in the American history and they achieved this by exhibiting it in their writings. Their writings were closer to reality and this paved the way for their success. Realism is not a new concept and this was adopted by the authors who emphasize on the historic incidents and happenings. This was held by Thucydides and Machiavelli which helped them in proving themselves a realist author. Contemporary Foreign Policies Thucydides and Machiavelli were considered to be the most popular historians and the reason was the way in which they treated law and political aspects of the government. Each and every part of their writings focused on the disregard for law and ethics that was followed in a country. This created a wave of fear among the residents of almost all the countries and the neighboring countries also felt the impact of the problem. Though they lived several decades before the independence of most of the nations, they are still popular due to their contribution to the history of their respective nations. Their political life also influenced other countries apart from their native countries. Their influence is still felt in most of the nations were their principles and political ideologies are being followed. Thucydides and Machiavelli are considered to be the fathers of political realism as they showed the political system of a country in a different dimension. The way they balanced a country’s government and political system and exertion of power made them the most sought after leaders of the country. They turned in to realist authors only after proving their mettle in the political system. (Thucydides, 1985). Their writings purely reflected their political experience and the way in which they dealt with the political problems and issues in the country. These were exhibited in a realistic manner which made the concept of politics an easy affair. Their writings interpreted the political and historical context and they emphasized power exertion and management of a country without much hassle. These were considered to be the biggest positive attributes of their writings. The concept of realism reached more people than they imagined and this helped them in concentrating more on political realism. Realism, to some extent is known to be the realistic aspects and happenings which pertain to a particular nation. The period when Thucydides and Machiavelli proposed the concept of realism in politics, was not the golden period of the country’s political era. Instead it was more prone to problems related to foreign policies and legislations pertaining to the foreign policies. All this contributed to the arrival of politics which was more based on reality. Realism is far better than the normal politics where any decision is made with mere imagination and ideas that relate to the future rather than concentrating on the present issues. (Bagby, 1998). In this way, Thucydides and Machiavelli succeeded in implementing realism in politics which helped even a common man of the country. Thucydides Thucydides, a Greek, influenced the political system by means of including realism in to political affairs of a country. His writings have influenced even the modern world and the political system. This clearly shows his interest towards the political aspects and his thirst for realistic politics which would benefit the officials as well as the common people of the country. His writings, the History of Peloponnesian war, described the problems and incidents during the war and its aftermath. Thucydides believed that wars had a great influence in the political system and the laws of a country. (Forde, 1995). Due to this reason, he concentrated more on the problems that led to the wars that prevailed in most of the countries. His interest did not stop with writing political concepts, instead he insisted on the political significance of a war which could last for many years. The political influence of a country was evident from the way a country deals with the problems related to wars. A country’s political system must be strong enough to maintain their armies and other potential leaders who can drive the wars in a much successful manner. Thus a country had to rearrange and organize their political affairs in such a way that the country could manage them at times of crisis. This was clearly evident from Thucydides writings which portrayed the political problems and aspects in a realistic way. The historical and political contexts of Thucydides writings were certainly relevant for an interpretation of their writings. Thucydides felt that war was inevitable and any country could not avoid them and their consequences. A country has to undergo a situation where there is no other option other than fighting with another country. Thucydides depicted the sequence of political activities that led to war and the various ways in which a country is affected in terms of politics and economy. Thucydides and Machiavelli played an important role in the realist theory of international relations. International relations specify a country’s relationship with the other nations in the world. (Beitz, 1979). They also proved that maintaining a cordial relationship with other countries is not an easy task. Instead it required more realistic political system that could enable the country to exhibit a different approach towards the fellow countries. International relations between countries played a major role in shaping up a country’s growth and development. Since the contributions of other countries are considered to be an important aspect in a country’s development, a country must concentrate on the affairs of another country. Realistic Approach Politics plays a major role in a country’s governance and the country must be capable enough to maintain the government in such a manner that it helps the people by minimizing the probability of wars. This would certainly help the nation to develop at a faster pace. This clearly explains that a nation’s development relies on the political system of a country. Thucydides insisted on a realistic political system that would yield more benefits to the people and the government. By this way a country can be sure of getting developed within a short period of time. According to Thucydides, the law and ethics must also be mutually exclusive so that the internal problems with in a country can be easily resolved. Realism dominated the political system since most of the leaders felt it would resolve the problems and build a better nation. Thucydides himself was appointed as the general of the Peninsula region during the time of war. During this time the number of wars doubled and they fought with almost all the neighboring countries. Though the leaders of the opposing countries had a good army base, Thucydides managed to succeed them with this willful nature and realistic approach. From then he concentrated on the Peloponnesian allies and began to depict them in his writings. Most of his writings were inspired by the wars, laws and realistic political system. (Knutsen, 1997). One of his famous writings, The History, described the Athens and the problems that prevailed in the beginning of the war. The political teachings and war findings also found a place in this work of his. He preserved the exact happenings of the war and enlisted the aftermath in a realistic manner. Realism was one of the major themes in most of his writings. This clearly shows his affinity towards realism and its effectiveness. Thucydides played an important role in the realist theory of international relations which proved the different and independent nature of the political system. International Relations According to Thucydides, the international relations among the countries were defined by the hierarchy which each country follows. Since the hierarchy of a country or state decided its relationship with another country, even a minor change in the hierarchy of a nation would certainly disturb the relationship. His study of Peloponnesian war helped him in conceptualizing the facts behind wars and the ability of a country to manage their states even after a victory or loss in a war. The ability of a country depends on its political system and in the way in which the country’s political affairs are dealt with. All these determined the country’s efficiency in modifying the political system according to the current situation and implementing realistic approaches in resolving the issues. He commented on the inevitable nature of war which was a result of the power of the countries. The change in the country’s political system and the government’s hierarchy defined the way in which a political system is defined. A change in this hierarchy would completely change the political system there by contributing to the problems that prevailed during the war. The political system and the way in which it is controlled in a country were also decided based on the hierarchical pattern. This created an impact in a country’s political system and helped them to implement the changes that would help them to build a better government. The positive changes were possible because of Thucydides realism which brought into a complete makeover of the Greek nations. His concept of realism had an impact on the country’s political as well as contemporary foreign policies which define the way in which a country’s international relations are defined. (Rengger, 2000). Though his approach towards realism seemed to be an appreciable task, there were certain flaws in the way he perceived the foreign policies and disregard for laws and ethics. The exertion of power of the contemporary foreign policies of America and the disregard for law and ethics reflected the power provided by Thucydides and Machiavelli. Though their ideologies helped in improving the government and society in general, it also had certain negative impacts. Any policy or approach should aim at creating a positive impact rather than pacifying the existing problem. Thucydides and Machiavelli were the authors who concentrated on the realistic aspects and the political and historical context was relevant for interpreting them in their writings. Machiavelli Machiavelli, a political philosopher, was popular in most of the nations like Germany, Greece and Italy. His political diplomacy made him more popular and his realistic approach which was similar to that of Thucydides. It created an impact in the political system of these countries. Machiavelli and Thucydides were realistic authors who described the political aspects and legislations of a country. Most of their writings were close to reality as their political practices were followed with a motto, realism. Machiavelli insisted that a state should follow a unique pattern in implying the government’s policies and implementing the political aspects. (Machiavelli, 1993). This would enable them to have a problem free nation which had very few chances of wars. He also insisted that a state must be unified in order to resolve the problematic issues. His writings exhibited his feelings regarding the people, which described that the people must be strong and honest, so that the government will not have any problems in implementing the proposed policies and legislations. Modern Political Science His books had a special mention about the rulers and suggested them how to maintain their government. In contrast to Thucydides, Machiavelli felt that there must be a balance between all the operations of the government. He mentioned the methods using which a government can be successful in their internal and external affairs. During that time, international foreign policies were a rage. Almost all the countries expressed their interest to establish a relationship with the neighboring countries. His interests were not bound only to politics, instead he also wrote about military regime and the ways in which a country’s army could improve. When compared to his other writings, Art of War was the most popular one as it contained all the essential features regarding a war. (Forde, 1995). The book had more details about how a war begins and the reasons that lead to war. Machiavelli and Thucydides did not have much difference in their interests, but the way in which they conceived their ideas regarding politics was different. The historical and political concepts developed a greater interest in them and this led to a situation where they exhibited it through their books. Machiavelli was also popular for his ideas in modern political science which initiated the idea of analyzing the political flaws. It also helped people to reform the political policies and it paved the way to development of the nation as a whole. During his period, Italy was composed of several small states which were independent and had a separate government. (Machiavelli, 2007). The states were more influential and had the ability to maintain a separate constituency and this lead to several problems. The historical context of Machiavelli emphasized on the political power and the ways in which the government should stabilize its operations. He suggested the fragmentation of the political powers and exerting them in an efficient way. Re-initiating Foreign Policies Machiavelli was interested in creating a policy that could assist the countries in redefining the contemporary foreign policies of United States of America. These policies and their disregard for law was certainly a reflection of the analysis of power provided by Thucydides and Machiavelli. Thucydides Vs Machiavelli Thucydides and Machiavelli were the authors who relied on political realism. Both of them worked on how a war was initiated and examined the background details that led to a war. Machiavelli imposed his thinking and ideas about war and he did not aim at finding the problems behind a particular war. (Berridge, 2001). Thucydides depicted Peloponnesian war in a more sophisticated way. He has concentrated even on minor aspects that led to a war. His works had clear evidence regarding the war and his realist theories are popular even today. Thucydides included the American diplomacy in his writings and the bitter truth about Cold war was revealed. The problems between America and the other super powers that led to Cold war were also a part of his writings. Due to this factor, the contemporary foreign policies went through a complete change. Thucydides and Machiavelli’s influence has been felt even in this modern world. Analysis and critical interpretation of their ideologies have not minimized their influence in the modern political policies. Conclusion Countries like Greece and Italy continue to follow their approach in maintaining the political affairs. There were several differences between the United States and Athens at the time of the Peloponnesian war. Athens did not have the capability and military armies to oppose the super power, America. The foreign policies and laws pertaining to wars were completely different. Thucydides and Machiavelli’s writings were relevant to the political happenings during their time. Machiavelli was not consistent in positing the constancy of human nature and the importance of chance and fortune. Instead he exhibited different opinion regarding the chance and fortune of a country. This was the major difference between Machiavelli and Thucydides. Each of their activities revealed that the historical and political context was relevant for an interpretation of their writings. The writings of Thucydides and Machiavelli helped people to understand the contemporary international politics. Reference Thucydides. (1985). History of the Peloponnesian War. New York: Penguin Books. Machiavelli, N. (1993). The Prince. U.K: Wordsworth Publications. Bagby, Laurie. (1998). The Use and Abuse of Thucydides in International Relations. Retrieved January 1, 2011, from Scribd database. Forde, Steven. (1995). International Realism and the Science of Politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Neo realism. International Studies, 39(2). Berridge, Geoffrey. (2001). Machiavelli: Human Nature, Good Faith and Diplomacy. Review of International Studies, 27(4). Machiavelli, Nicholas. (2007). The Art of War. U.S.A: Wilder Publications. Gomme, A.W. (2002). A Historical Commentary on Thucydides. New York: Oxford University Press. Beitz, Charles. (1979). Political Theory and International Relations. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Knutsen, Torbjorn. (1997). A History of International Relations Theory. U.K: Manchester University Press. Rengger, N.J. (2000). International Relations, Political Theory, and the Problem of Order. London: Routledge. Read More