POLS 2940 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Nato, Warsaw Pact, Status Quo
22 Jan 2019
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Document Summary
Starts with thucydides history of peloponnesian war. Main goal of international politics = gain power immediate aim human nature as the best explanation of how states behave. Human hard-wired to pursue power state/individuals maximize power. Pursuit of any national interest = has to b in harmony with state"s power. Morgenthau critical of universal moral value however moral component included in national interest that could be realised through the medium of power. Less constraint on the struggle for power among nations. Urged foreign policy officials to maintain balance of power. Balance of power = essential in preserving the liberty of states. Politics government by laws of human nature. Understood international policies through concepts of interests defined by power. Balance of power = if a state"s survival is threatened by a hegemonic states or group of stronger states, it should join other states for preserving independence by checking the power of the opposite side.
