Glimmer of a New Leviathan: Total War in the Realism of Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and Waltz

Freedman, Lawrence; Craig, Campbell; Drell, Sidney D.; Goodby, James E.

doi:10.2307/20033995

Cited by 11 publications

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“…No single factor motored their reformist impulses: what we now describe as ‘economic globalization’, growing social interdependence as resulting from technological change, as well as the rise of modern industrialized (and total) warfare, and of course the nuclear revolution, all encouraged them to insist on the nation state’s increasingly anachronistic character 24. Scholarly accounts which emphasize only one of these factors, for example, nuclear weaponry,distort a messier (and more interesting) story (Craig, 2003). Second, the classical Realists oftentimes envisioned Mitrany’s functionalist model of international organization as a practical strategy for developing a mature world community.…”

Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Metternich, Castlereagh, and Bismarck), played some role (Kissinger, 1957; Dickson, 1978). Even greater responsibility for this development can probably be attributed to the influence of Kenneth Waltz, who exploded into the ranks of Realist theory in the late 1950s and 1960s, and who subsequently played a huge role in reorienting it away from some of the preoccupations of classical Realism (Craig, 2003: 117–173). Like Niebuhr and Schuman, Waltz came from a socially modest German–American family from the Midwest (Halliday and Rosenberg, 1989).…”

Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of factors were decisive in leading Waltz to accept ‘the existence of an anarchical international structure as a fact of political life’ (Craig, 2003: 129). Most obviously, he argued for a strict positivist delineation of scientific from normative inquiry.…”

Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So-called classical Realism remains a rich source for thinking about political and social change ‘beyond the nation state’ to an extent underappreciated even by some auspicious recent attempts to revisit its reformist impulses 2. Most prominently, Campbell Craig (2003) and Daniel Deudney (2007) have undertaken path breaking efforts to revitalize mid-century Realism’s subterranean reformist tradition. Yet even they miss key pieces of the puzzle.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The (classical) Realist vision of global reform

Scheuerman

2010

Int. Theory

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Most Realists today oppose far-reaching global reform on the grounds that it represents unrealistic and potentially irresponsible ‘utopianism’. An earlier generation of mid-century Realists, however, not only supported serious efforts at radical international reform but also developed a theoretically impressive model for how to bring it about. They considered the possibility of post-national political orders and ultimately a world state as desirable long-term goals, but only if reformers could simultaneously generate the thick societal background (or what they called ‘supranational society’) required by any viable order ‘beyond the nation state’. As they fail to engage constructively with proposals for global reform, present-day Realists betray their own intellectual tradition. By reconsidering the subterranean legacy of Realist reformism as advanced by mid-century international thinkers (e.g. E.H. Carr, John Herz, Hans Morgenthau, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Frederick Schuman), the essay provides a revisionist reading of the history of twentieth-century international theory, while also highlighting its significance for ongoing debates about global reform.

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Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Maturation and Subsequent Demise Of Realist Global Refor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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The (classical) Realist vision of global reform

Scheuerman

2010

Int. Theory

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“…This presents a greater puzzle for realism than is often acknowledged. If states pursue security − as most realists believe − why do they tolerate a status quo that bodes catastrophe in the long run (Booth & Wheeler, 1992; Craig, 2003)?…”

Section: Not Whether But Whenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear war as a predictable surprise

Rendall

2022

Global Policy

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Like asteroids, hundred-year floods and pandemic disease, thermonuclear war is a low-frequency, high-impact threat. In the long run, catastrophe is inevitable if nothing is done − yet each successive government and generation may fail to address it. Drawing on risk perception research, this paper argues that psychological biases cause the threat of nuclear war to receive less attention than it deserves. Nuclear deterrence is, moreover, a 'front-loaded good': its benefits accrue disproportionately to proximate generations, whereas much of the expected cost will be borne in the distant future. Recent surveys indicate that the US and Russian publics assign a surprisingly high likelihood to nuclear war.Nevertheless, earlier research suggests that it is probably not believed to be just around the corner. This, along with the absence of easy solutions, encourages governments and publics to give priority to more pressing concerns. The danger is that the pattern will continue clear up to the point that nuclear war arrives.

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The Balance of Power in International Relations

Little

2007

189

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The balance of power has been a central concept in the theory and practice of international relations for the past five hundred years. It has also played a key role in some of the most important attempts to develop a theory of international politics in the contemporary study of international relations. In this 2007 book, Richard Little establishes a framework that treats the balance of power as a metaphor, a myth and a model. He then uses this framework to reassess four major texts that use the balance of power to promote a theoretical understanding of international relations: Hans J. Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations (1948), Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society (1977), Kenneth N. Waltz's Theory of International Politics (1979) and John J. Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001). These reassessments allow the author to develop a more comprehensive model of the balance of power.

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Glimmer of a New Leviathan: Total War in the Realism of Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and Waltz

Cited by 11 publications

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The (classical) Realist vision of global reform

The (classical) Realist vision of global reform

Nuclear war as a predictable surprise

The Balance of Power in International Relations

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