Politics Among Nations

A balance of power occurs when one nation or group of nations reaches a political and military equilibrium with another nation or group of nations; this equilibrium discourages both sides from going to war. Morgenthau believes that balances of power play a vital role in international relations; this concept has resurfaced across history, especially in the history of early modern Europe. A historical example would be the balance of power that existed between France and Austria in 16th-century Europe.

Although a détente is not a complete peace, it is best defined as a state of diplomatic relations between two countries in which a normally hostile relationship is eased. The term is used to describe the foreign policy of US Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter toward the Soviet Union.

In Morgenthau’s view, imperialism is a foreign policy in which one nation seeks to destroy the current international status quo and achieve dominance over other nations via military, economic, and/or cultural means. This is in contrast to a status-quo foreign policy, which seeks to maintain or restore the international status quo.

Lasting from 1803 to 1815, the Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars between the French Empire (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and many of the other powers of Europe. Morgenthau views the Napoleonic Wars as a key event that gave rise to the development of nationalism and total war.

Nationalistic universalism refers to a form of nationalism in which a nation seeks to impose its own values on other nations instead of simply looking after its own interests. Both the United States and the Soviet Union, by seeking to spread democracy and communism, respectively, easily fit into this definition.

After the Treaty of Westphalia, the concept of sovereignty, which holds that any nation has sole power over its own territory, was developed and spread across the world. Morgenthau views the idea of sovereignty as a key obstacle in the development of a world state and thus world peace.

A legal term derived from Latin, stare decisis is the legal principle stating that previous decisions by a court have bearing on all future decisions—unless those decisions are explicitly overturned. Morgenthau notes that international courts do not typically follow the principle of stare decisis and sees this fact as a major weakness of international law.

In the context of Politics Among Nations, the status quo is one of the two central types of foreign policy and denotes situations in which a nation seeks to defend or revive the international order between nations. This term contrasts with imperialism, which occurs when a nation tries to overturn the status quo for its own benefit.

“Third World” is an oversimplified and largely outdated term that was traditionally applied to nations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia—those entities that had once been subjected to colonialism and therefore are often not as industrialized as the nations of Europe and North America. The term originates from the Cold War, with the United States and its allies representing the “First World” and the Soviet Union leading the “Second World.” Competition over influence was a major characteristic of the “Third World.” Morgenthau also states that the “Third World” has become more important in international relations since World War II.

The Thirty Years War was a devastating conflict between most of the major European powers; it lasted from 1618 to 1648 and was primarily caused by the tensions between Protestant and Catholic nations. Morgenthau views the Thirty Years War as a major historical turning point because it resulted in the Treaty of Westphalia, which enshrined the concept of national sovereignty.