93 pages • 3-hour read
Politics Among Nations
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Background
Ideological Context: Classical Realism
Politics Among Nations is considered to be one of the first major works supporting classical realism. Categorized as a school of thought on international relations and diplomacy, classical realism is the belief that nations act mainly—or even entirely—out of self-interest and the need to maintain and expand power. It is a “a view of international politics that stresses its competitive and conflictual side” (“Political Realism in International Relations.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 9 Oct. 2023). The theory also holds that nations behave this way across time and different cultures because this behavior arises from human nature itself, which is viewed as fixed and innate.
The philosophical basis of classical realism can be found in the work of several past philosophers and writers going back to ancient Greece. Hans Morgenthau particularly stresses the work of the 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In the work titled Leviathan, Hobbes argues that humans are naturally individualistic and are motivated by power and self-interest; this assertion is the basis for the classical realistic view of the behavior of nations. In Hobbes’s view, only a greater power, such as a strong sovereign and government, can restrain humans’ tendency to compete and fight with each other. Similarly, Morgenthau argues that the only definite, permanent solution to the problem of war would be the creation of a world state.
Ideologically, classical realism contrasts with idealism, which is also called liberalism (the other original school of thought in international relations). Rather than framing ideals like democracy and freedom as mere fronts for nations’ self-interested goals, the philosophy of idealism argues instead that nations are genuinely motivated by a shared sense of morality. Additionally, idealism proposes that peace can be ensured through greater political, social, and economic cooperation and understanding between nations, which will improve over time. Examples of idealist writings include Alfred Zimmern’s The League of Nations and the Rule of Law (1936) and Parker Thomas Moon’s Imperialism and World Politics (1926). Aspects of idealism are also expressed in President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points,” the proposed peace settlement following World War I.
Historical Context: The Cold War and Decolonialization
Although the text has been revised and expanded in multiple editions that have been published over the course of decades, Politics Among Nations is still very much a product of the two dominant political trends of the post-World War II era (the Cold War and decolonization). This is because the text addresses the complex shifts in power dynamics that occurred as the United States and the then-Soviet Union competed for influence over various formerly colonized countries. The Cold War is so named because it was a conflict without direct battles between the Soviet Union and the United States. It began with tensions between the capitalist and democratic ideals of Western Europe and North America and the communist ideology of the Soviet Union. The conflict escalated over the military occupation of West and East Germany by the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively, and then worsened as the Soviet Union expanded its influence into Eastern Europe and as China came under the control of a communist government.
Related to the Cold War was decolonization, as World War II weakened or outright dissolved the old colonial empires of Europe and Japan. Some former colonies had become independent nations before World War II, as when Egypt gained its independence from the British Empire in 1922, but World War II accelerated this process for others. In 1947, India and Pakistan became autonomous nations, and by 1949, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam broke from French control. Additional independence movements arose across Africa and South Asia during the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout Politics Among Nations, Morgenthau makes it a point to consider the ways in which global superpowers and the more recently formed and less powerful countries approach the issue of power in international relations.
As Morgenthau contends, the issues of decolonization and the Cold War were deeply related, as both the United States and the Soviet Union sought to exercise influence over the so-called “Third World,” a now-outdated term that traditionally referred to the newly independent nations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia that were previously colonies. The two superpowers engaged in a competition of influence that was often fought using propaganda, as well as the bestowal of economic support and military aid upon these nascent nations. However, the subterfuge characteristic of the Cold War did sometimes erupt into violent conflict, as in the case of the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
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