The Realist Tradition and the Limits of International Relations

Realism is commonly portrayed as theory that reduces international relations to pure power politics. Michael Williams provides an important reexamination of the Realist tradition and its relevance for contemporary international relations. Examining three thinkers commonly invoked as Realism's foremost proponents - Hobbes, Rousseau, and Morgenthau - the book shows that, far from advocating a crude realpolitik, Realism's most famous classical proponents actually stressed the need for a restrained exercise of power and a politics with ethics at its core. These ideas are more relevant than ever at a time when the nature of responsible responses to international problems are at the centre of contemporary political debate. This original interpretation of major thinkers will interest scholars of international relations and the history of ideas.

ISBN 0521534755   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521534758 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 380 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series ISSN 100 Format Paperback   Series title Cambridge Studies in International Relations Publication date 06 Jan 2005   Height (mm) 228 Library of Congress 2004051850   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 327.101   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly Pages 254

1		Sceptical states : Hobbes		19
2		Rousseau, realism, and realpolitik		52
3		Hans Morgenthau and the historical construction of realism		82
4		The tyranny of false polarities		128
5		The ethic of responsibility		169

"If we needed any more evidence of realism's resurgence in the field of International Relations, then Michael C. Williams's original and thought-provoking book on the realist tradition should serve as the final testament ... This is a book that all realists and their critics should ponder.' International Affairs 'This book makes an important contribution to recent efforts to reinterpret realism.' Political Studies Review

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