Exploration of how ethical behaviour in international affairs advances national security.

Autorentext
Richard Ned Lebow is the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. He is the author, co-author or editor of over eighteen books, many of them about international conflict and its management. He is currently President of the International Society of Political Psychology.

Klappentext

Is it possible to preserve national security through ethical policies? Richard Ned Lebow seeks to show that ethics are actually essential to the national interest. Recapturing the wisdom of classical realism through a close reading of the texts of Thucydides, Clausewitz and Hans Morgenthau, Lebow argues that, unlike many modern realists, classic realists saw close links between domestic and international politics, and between interests and ethics. Lebow uses this analysis to offer a powerful critique of post-Cold War American foreign policy. He also develops an ontological foundation for ethics and makes the case for an alternate ontology for social science based on Greek tragedy's understanding of life and politics. This is a topical and accessible book, written by a leading scholar in the field.

Zusammenfassung
In this topical book, Richard Ned Lebow argues that it is possible to follow ethical policies while preserving national security. He shows how great realist thinkers saw links between interests and ethics and extends his analysis to offer a powerful critique of post-Cold War American foreign policy.

Inhalt

1. Nixon in Hell; 2. Tragedy and politics; 3. Thucydides and war; 4. Thucydides and civilization; 5. Carl von Clausewitz; 6. Hans J. Morgenthau; 7. The wisdom of classical realism; 8. Running red lights and ruling the world; 9. Tragedy and scholarship.