Politics Among Nations, Brief Edition

Forget about the clowns on cable television news shows that are always yelling at each (no matter what their and your politics are). Forget about Oprah, Dr. Phil, Maureen Dowd (even though she's always very sultry), Noam Chomsky, etc. Forget about Rush Limbaugh, the Christian Coalition, the lunatic professor in Colorado (whatever his name is). Most of all, forget about Tom Friedman (author/NYT columnist -- read my review on THE WORLD IS FLAT for my views on him). Do you want to know HOW the world works in terms of international relations? Read this book. Do you want to know WHY it works that way? Read this book. The concepts and ideas in this book cover the fundamentals, but it doesn't just gloss over them... it covers them in detail and from all angles... and, by doing so, the reader will get a clearer and firmer understanding of current events, governmments' actions and non-actions, etc. Why does this book continue to endure in value? Because it focuses on the fundamentals of action/non-action and the reasons "why." It is NOT about the flavor-of-the-month topic. It's a no-nonsense book and comes with serious analyses, thoughts, theories, conclusions and arguments. I'd recommend this book to readers of all stripes, whether you're a pacifist, lunatic fringe, status quo conservative, environmentalist, obsessed with human or animal rights (or both), etc. After you read this book, you'll never watch the news channels or read the paper the same way ever again. The "old testament": 1- Politics Among Nations (Morgenthau) 2- On War (Clausewitz) 3- The Federalist Papers (Hamilton, Madison, Jay) 4- The Prince and The Discourses (Machiavelli) 5- The Twenty Years' Crisis (Carr)

I was taught politics initially by a professor from the University of Chicago who studied under Han J. Morgenthau, who used Morgenthau's book, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace as his primary text. Later, when I taught politics, I found that this text was a bit too advanced for the calibre of beginning undergraduate students (my, how the standards, they slippeth...) but was useful for a third-year course in international relations.This book is heavy in history and philosophy as well as a more 'pure' political science; these are not disconnected subjects, and should not be treated as such. Morgenthau was one of the giants of international thought, having trained many (directly or through texts) of the last generation of political scientists, who rarely have a neutral opinion on Morgenthau. Very much an adherent of the Real Politick, and addresses the question of framework and theory at the beginning of the text:Morgenthau, throughout this work, strives to work against the idea that international politics in particular, and politics more generally, can be derived simply from philosophical or abstract points, and must be grounded in the imperfect and very human dealings at hand. He outlines six principles which guide this political realism:1. There are objective laws that govern politics, rooted in human nature.2. The main force driving international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power.3. This key concept is universally valid and objective, but does not have the same meaning fixed once and for all. 4. Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action.5. Political realism refuses to equate the moral principles of any given nation or time with the overall moral laws that govern the universe.6. Political realism maintains a separation and integrity of intellectual substance, while recognising other frameworks and the inter-relatedness of politics with other fields. Morgenthau goes through a lengthy discussion of these principles as the underpinning of his theories, before embarking on the 'nitty-gritty' of international politics. He includes an essay on scientific methodology as it applies to politics, and the limitations of this methodology.Morgenthau then proceeds to discuss politics under the following broad headings:- International Politics as a Struggle for PowerThis includes a look at political power, imperialism in different guises, status quo issues, prestige, and political ideologies. Take imperialism as an example: Morgenthau examines the reasons for imperialistic tendencies (victorious war, lost war, and weakness, perceived or real); the ultimate goals of imperialism (which could be global empire and hegemony, continental empire, or merely local preponderance); and the differing methods of imperialism (military, economic, cultural).- National PowerIn this section, Morgenthau discusses military, political, population, national morale, natural resource, and quality of gove

If you've ever studied foreign policy or international affairs, you're familiar with the ideas and theories of Hans Morganthau, even if you don't realize it. He defined power for this field (no, really-- his definition of power is the accepted standard in the field), and much of modern international affairs theory is based on his ideas. This book is written as a textbook, but a rather readable one. For serious students of international affairs, much of the contents of the book may seem like a review, but I still found several ideas that were new to me. For beginners or those who simply wish to increase their knowledge of world politics, this book may seem like a somewhat dense read, but it will teach you 90% of modern international affairs theory. Well worth the money and the effort.

Hans Morgenthau is, together with E.H.Carr, among the key 20th century thinkers who studied international relations and developed what is today called classical realism (as opposed to structural- or neo-realism - see Kenneth Waltz). Classical realism claims an ancient ancestry beginning with the History of the Peloponesian War by Thucydides, and including thinkers like Maciaveli and Clausewitz, as well as Ralf Niebur. Briefly, the proponents of this line of thinking claim that 1) states are the only actors of significance in international relations; 2) that because there is no single world government, international relations are characterized by self-help- if states wish to survive they should ever be ready for war; 3) 'power' in this sense becomes both a means (to survival) and an end in itself -- states struggle to aggrandize their power; 4) because of all this, international relations are primarily a realm of conflict, not cooperation; 5) this sorry state of affairs stems from the evil nature of man which is essentially unchangeable (see St. Augustine, City of God, for a forceful argument in this vein). Given all this, Morgenthau claims that any politician who does not take the above points seriously is acting under dangerous delusions. Because most statesmen do act in this way, he, says, reading his book will allow the reader to be able 'to look over the shoulder' of any leader and understand their decisions. Whether one agrees or not with these views, the book is indispensible for any serious student of international politics. For further interest one may wish to read both scholars who have advanced the realist tradition in international relations in new directions (see esp. Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics; Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception..., and System Effects; Jack Snyder, Myths of Empire; and Michael Doyle, Ways of War and Peace) and critics of this tradition (esp. Robert Keohane, Neorealism and Its Critics, After Hegemony, and (with J.Nye) Power and Interdependence, as well as David Baldwin, ed., Neorealism and Neoliberalism). I admit that the book is densely written, but with the right roadmap, it is an enjoyable read. In fact, if you wish to find it even more useful, you may begin with E.H.Carr, The Twenty Years' Crisis, which is elegantly written, a real pleasure to read, and which is a very clear statement of the main arguments of realism.

Forget about this book if it matters for you to have happy endings at movies; but ignore it at your own peril. Morgenthau has captured the essence of political realism many times over in this book. His calm, controlled and authoritative exposition of the power relations between states makes "Politics Among Nations" one of the best "non-fiction" publications of the century. For the academically minded it is an easy read, for a student of political realism a must.