Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 – July 19, 1980) was an International Relations theorist and one of the most influential 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 fleeing to the United States in 1937 as the Nazis came to power in Germany. His experiences with Nazism seem to have influenced his later IR work , where he argued passionately in favor of a more scientific approach to politics, in contrast with the way the Nazi party came to imbue political science with a nationalist streak. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Coburg is a city located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. ... National Socialism redirects here. ...

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 holds that nation-states are the main actors in International Relations, and that the main concern of the field is the study of power. The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... Edward Hallett Carr (1892–1982) was a British historian and international relations theorist. ... Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism The term realism or political realism collects a wide variety of theories and modes of thought about International Relations that have in common that the motivation of states is in the... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

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. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Diplomat redirects here. ... What is an Idealist? Liberals reject the notion that all or most humans are inherently political predators. ...

Principles of political realism

Some claim that Morgenthau is the founder of International relations as an independent discipline. Before him, it was studied under history, political thought or international law. The more interesting side of Morgenthau is his function as a witness to his time. Why is his approach, after 50 years, still deemed relevant? What is the relevance of political realism a) to his own time, and b) to this day? Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ...

The theoretical aims of political realism: to introduce a conceptual framework that helps us understanding: i) what happened in the first half of the 20th century? => a crisis of the western civilization ii) why it happened => because of a general decay in western political thinking (the dominance of liberalism), and iii) what can be done to prevent it from happening again? => introducing a better theory and practice of politics (political realism). Note: the main reason why political realism refers to an underlying philosophical trait coming from Thucydides to present day is its contention that it was a deficiency of philosophical nature that led to the crisis.

the main dictum of 'liberalism' as described in Morgenthau's "scientific man vs. power politics" is the belief in the redeeming powers of science and reason. In this depiction, liberalism is a school of thought that believes in the transformation of man through education in order to solve social problems. It was articulated through the historical rise of the middle classes. Liberalism has misunderstood the nature of man since it believed that society, pretty much like the nature, is subject to specific general laws. What it did not contemplate was the intrinsic human nature that rendered human affairs completely unforeseeable. Morgenthau contends that in politics, there are no fixed formula, it is not a technical question as liberals take it to be. It is the wisdom of the statesman who operates in this environment of uncertainty that counts. The moral responsibility of the politician appears exactly at this point where the statesman uses the 'art of statecraft', knowing that there is no pre-established certainty of success.

Six principles of political realism

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the tension between the moral command and the requirements of successful political action.

5. 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 moral excess and political folly.

6. The political realist maintains the autonomy of the political sphere; he asks "How does 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 behaviour, "political man" must be abstracted from other aspects of human nature.

Quotations

• "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."^[1]

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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.

References

1. ^ Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Thompson, Politics Among Nations, 6th edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985), p. 165.

See also

• Morgenthau Lectures by the Carnegie Council
• Edward Carr
• George F. Kennan
• Stephen Walt
• Kenneth Waltz
• John Mearsheimer
• Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago

Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism International relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual model upon which international relations can be analyzed. ... It has been suggested that Defensive realism be merged into this article or section. ... Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism Neorealism or structural realism is a theory of international relations, outlined by Kenneth Waltz in his 1979 book, Theory of International Politics. ... Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Critical theory & Constructivism Former President of the United States Woodrow Wilson, considered to be a founder of idealism. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Liberal institutionalism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... International Relations Theory Realism Liberalism Idealism Neoconservatism Institutionalism Functionalism Marxism Critical theory Isolationism Marxist and Neo-Marxist international relations theories are positivist paradigms which reject the realist/liberal view of state conflict or cooperation; instead focusing on the economic and material aspects. ... Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      Dependency theory is a body of social science theories, both from developed and developing nations, that create a worldview which suggests that poor underdeveloped states of the periphery are exploited by wealthy developed nations of the centre, in order to sustain economic... Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      Critical international relations theory is a set of schools of thought in international relations (IR) that have criticized the status-quo—both from positivist positions as well as postpositivist positions. ... Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      In international relations, constructivism is the application of constructivist epistemology to the study of world affairs. ... International Relations Theory Realism Liberalism Idealism Neoconservatism Institutionalism Functionalism Marxism Critical theory Isolationism Functionalism is a theory of international relations that arose principally from the experience of European integration. ... Main International Relations Theories and derivates Realism & Neorealism Idealism, Liberalism & Neoliberalism Marxism & Dependency theory Functionalism & Neofunctionalism Constructivism Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration, building on the work of David Mitrany. ... The Morgenthau Lectures started in 1981 and is the longest running program at the Carnegie Council. ... The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City-based foreign policy think tank. ... Edward Hallett Carr (1892–1982) was a British historian and international relations theorist. ... George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as the father of containment and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. ... Stephen Martin Walt (born July 2, 1955) is a professor of international affairs at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. ... Kenneth Neal Waltz (born 1924) is a member of the faculty at Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars of international relations (IR) alive today. ... Professor John J. Mearsheimer John J. Mearsheimer (born December 1947) is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. ... The U.S. House Committee on International Relations (also known as the House International Relations Committee, the House Foreign Relations Committee or the House Foreign Affairs Committee), is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives which is in charge of bills and investigations related to the foreign...

External links

• Articles By Hans Morgenthau