The Illusion of Power and the Disruption of Moral Norms: Thucydides' Critique of Periclean Policy

Abstract

Scholars in both international relations and political theory have been turning their attention to Thucydides with increasing frequency but with dissimilar questions. We draw on both traditions of inquiry to reexamine Thucydides' view of Pericles. We argue that antithetical reasoning is present in the treatment of Pericles and is manifested in the opposition between the statesman's brilliance and the infelicitous consequences of his statecraft, as become evident in the work as a whole. This antithesis undermines the claim advanced by certain figures in the History, as well as by contemporary realists, that states (statesmen) should not be held to the same moral standards as individuals because to do so subverts their capacity to conduct prudent policy. We propose that Thucydides' work suggests, instead, that it is precisely when the norms of moral conduct are disrupted that states and individuals find it next to impossible to chart a prudent course of action.

Sleepwalkers in Athens: Power, Norms, and Ambiguity in Thucydides

“…Norms had shifted but the Athenian adventurism with normative emancipation was not exactly followed by Sparta. The role of norms has been the focus, among others, of Monoson and Loriaux (1998). But their unsurprising conclusion (that Thucydides suggests that's precisely when the norms of moral conduct are disrupted that states and individuals find it difficult to chart a prudent course of action) cannot account for Thucydides' cold and analytical examination of the Athenians' adventurist approach to norms in the Melian and Delian episodes.…”

Thucydides on Ripeness and Conflict Resolution

“…Yet this, we may say, is precisely the reason for Thucydides' interest in preventing or resolving conflict. The war he chronicled was a catastrophic one for the Greeks: ruinous to Athens, but perhaps more seriously, corrosive to Greek culture in general (Shorey, 1893:66; Monoson and Loriaux, 1998:290–293; Euben, 1990:175–186; Lebow, 2001:549; Bedford and Workman, 2001:62–64). He clearly hopes that his readers will be able to prevent or ameliorate such destruction in the future.…”

“…He laments the destructiveness of the war, destructiveness not only in terms of lives and treasure, but of cultural norms. The devastation of the “rough schoolmaster” war extends beyond the battlefield to the fabric of civilized life itself (3.82; Shorey, 1893:66; Euben, 1990:175–186; Monoson and Loriaux, 1998:290–293; Lebow, 2001:549). Thucydides' History might even be viewed as a tragedy, showing how the damage to the Greek cities far outweighed the gains to any (Aron, 1968:386, 398; Bedford and Workman, 2001; Lebow, 2001:551).…”

Thucydides the Constructivist

“…In Book Four, Thucydides offers Hermocrates of Syracuse as another role model (Connor 1984;Monoson and Loriaux 1998). His success in governing Athens under the most trying circumstances may have convinced Thucydides that such an amalgam was desirable and possible.…”

“…Its larger purpose was to make them wary not only of the sweet and beguiling words of demagogues but also, as Monoson and Loriaux (1998) suggest, of any politician who advocates policies at odds with conventions that maintain domestic and international order. Zeno silenced his opponents by showing how their arguments also implied their negations and were thus contradictory (Kerferd 1981).…”