05753 - Theory of International Relations

Course contents

This course is an introduction to Realist theory, from its origins to contemporary variants. Thucydides' Histories will be seen not only as a masterpiece of ancient historiography and classical political philosophy but also as a grand theory of international politics based upon a number of ideal-type characterizations of states and their interactions. Accordingly, the course will first aim at identifying such central notions and ideas and organizing them in a comprehensive conceptual system. In the reconstrucion of modern and contemporary Realist theory, special emphasis will be put on notions such as security, power, interest, balance of power, and alliances. Concerning the latter, the course will discuss a series of case-studies from the 18th century to NATO.

Readings/Bibliography

 

1. Le origini e lo scoppio della guerra del Peloponneso

 

- Tucidide, Libro I.

 

2. La politica di Pericle

- Tucidide, Libro II.

 

 

3. La defezione di Mitilene e la guerra civile a Corcira

- Tucidide, Libro III.

 

 

4. L'episodio di Pilo; la campagna di Brasida in Tracia

 

- Tucidide, Libro IV.

 

 

5. La pace di Nicia

 

- Tucidide, Libro V.

 

 

6. La spedizione in Sicilia

 

- Tucidide, Libro VI e VII, 1-59.

 

 

7. La campagna in Ionia e il colpo di stato a Atene

 

- Tucidide, Libro VII, 60-fine e VIII.

 

 

 

8. Il «giusto» e l'«utile»

 

- D. Cohen, «Justice, Interest and Political Deliberation in Thucydides», Quaderni urbinati di cultura classica, XVI, 1984, pp. 35-60;

- J. de Romilly, Thucydides and Athenian Imperialism, Blackwell, 1963, parte I, cap. II («The Athenian Ambition»).

 

 

9. La «legge del più forte»

 

- J. de Romilly, Thucydides and Athenian Imperialism, Blackwell, 1963, parte III, cap. III («The System of Athenian Imperialism»);

- L. Canfora, Tucidide e l'impero, Laterza, 1992, pp. 5-20.

 

 

10. Guerra, alleanze e rapporti interstatali

 

- R. Aron, Pace e guerra tra le nazioni (1962), Comunità, 1970, cap. 5;

- B. Strauss, «Of Balances, Bandwagons, and Ancient Greeks», in R. Lebow e B. Strauss, (a cura di), Hegemonic Rivalry. From Thucydides to the Nuclear Age, Westview, 1991, pp. 189-210;

- L.M. Johnson Bagby, «The Use and Abuse of Thucydides in International Relations», International Organization, XLVIII, 1, 1994, pp. 131-153.

 

 

11. Il realismo nell'età moderna

 

- N. Machiavelli, Il principe, capp. III, IX-X, XII-XIII, XV, XVII-XIX, XXI, XXV; I discorsi, Libro I, Proemio, XXXIII-XXXIVII, LIII, LVIII-LIX; Libro II, tutto; Libro III, XL-XLII.

- T. Hobbes, brani scelti in A. Wolfers e L. Martin (a cura di), The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs, Yale University Press, 1956, pp. 26-40;

- F. von Gentz, brani scelti in M. Forsyth, H. Keens-Soper, e P. Savigear (a cura di), The Theory of International Relations, Allen, 1970, pp. 275-304;

- J. Haslam, No Virtue like Necessity, Yale University Press, 2002, pp. 89-127.

 

 

12. «Utopisti», realisti e il primo «grande dibattito»

 

- N. Angell, The Great Illusion, Heinemann, 1910 (e successive edizioni), parte I, capp. 4-5;

- W. Wilson, brani scelti in A. Wolfers e L. Martin (a cura di), The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs, Yale University Press, 1956, pp. 263-279;

- E. Carr, The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939, Macmillan, 1939, capp. 4-5 (trad. it. in M. Cesa, a cura di, Le relazioni internazionali, il Mulino, 2004, pp. 37-51);

- L. Ashworth, «Where Were the Idealists in Interwar International Relations?», Review of International Studies, XXXII, 2, 2006, pp. 291-308.

 

 

13. Il realismo «classico»

 

- R. Niebuhr, «Why the Christian Church Is Not Pacifist», in R. Niebuhr, Christianity and Power Politics, Scribner's, 1940, pp. 1-32;

- G. Kennan, «The Sources of Soviet Conduct», Foreign Affairs, XXV, 4, 1947, pp. 566-582;

- H. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations, Knopf, 1948, cap. 1 (trad. it. in M. Cesa, a cura di, Le relazioni internazionali, il Mulino, 2004, pp.53-70);

- J. Herz, «Idealist Internationalism and the Security Dilemma», World Politics, II, 2, 1950, pp. 157-180;

-A. Wolfers, Discord and Collaboration, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1962, pp. 67-80 e 103-115.

 

14. Il neorealismo

 

- K. Waltz, Teoria della politica internazionale (1979), trad. it. il Mulino, 1987, pp. 133-242; 297-352;

- J. Grieco, «Realist International Theory and the Study of World Politics», in M. Doyle e J. Ikenberry (a cura di), New Thinking in International Relations Theory, Westview, 1997, pp. 163-201 (trad. it. in M. Cesa, a cura di, Le relazioni internazionali, il Mulino, 2004, pp. 167-214).

 

 

15. Potere e sicurezza: realismo «offensivo» e realismo «difensivo»

 

- J. Snyder, Myths of Empire, Cornell University Press, 1991, pp. 1-65;

- C. Glaser, «Realists as Optimists: Cooperation as Self-Help», in B. Frankel (a cura di), Realism: Restatements and Renewal, Cass, 1996, pp. 122-163;

- E. Labs, «Beyond Victory: Offensive Realism and the Expansion of War Aims», Security Studies, VI, 4, 1997, pp. 1-49;

- J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Norton, 2001, pp. 29-54.

 

 

16. La cooperazione istituzionalizzata tra interesse e potere

 

- R. Keohane, After Hegemony, Princeton University Press, 1984, pp. 49-109;

- J. Grieco, «Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Institutionalism», International Organization, XIIL, 3, 1988, pp. 485-507;

- S. Krasner, «Global Communications and National Power: Life on the Pareto Frontier», World Politics, XLIII, 3, 1991, pp. 336-366;

- G.J. Ikenberry, After Victory. Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order after Major Wars, Princeton University Press, 2001, pp. 50-79 e 257-273.

 

 

17. La dimesione cooperativa delle alleanze: la teoria realista

 

- H. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations, Knopf, 1978 (5th ed.), pp. 173-228;

- S. Walt, The Origins of Alliances, Cornell University Press, 1987, pp. 1-49; 147-180; 262-285;

- R. Schweller, «Bandwagoning for Profit: Bringing the Revisionist State Back In», International Security, XIX, 1, 1994, pp. 72-107;

- M. Cesa, Alleati ma rivali, il Mulino, 2007, pp. 21-53.

 

 

18. La dimensione competitiva delle alleanze

 

- P. Schroeder, «Alliances, 1815-1945: Weapons of Power and Tools of Management», in K. Knorr (a cura di), Historical Dimensions of National Security Problems, Kansas University Press, 1976, pp. 227-262;

- G. Snyder, Alliance Politics, Cornell University Press, 1997, pp. 1-39; 165-200;

- M. Cesa, Alleati ma rivali, il Mulino, 2007, pp. 55-130.

 

 

19. Quattro casi di alleanza

 

- M. Cesa, Alleati ma rivali, il Mulino, 2007, pp. 147-330.

 

 

20. La NATO e la teoria realista

 

- J. Joffe, «NATO and the Dilemmas of a Nuclear Alliance», Journal of International Affairs, XLIII, 1, 1989, pp. 29-45;

- M. Howard, «An Unhappy Successful Marriage», Foreign Affairs, LXXVIII, 3, 1999, pp. 164-175;

- M. Olson e R. Zeckhauser, «An Economic Theory of Alliances», The Review of Economics and Statistics, XLVIII, 3, 1966, pp. 266-279;

- J. Joffe, «"Bismarck" or "Britain"? Toward an American Grand Strategy after Bipolarity», International Security, XIX, 4, 1995, pp. 94-117;

- S. Walt, «Why Alliances Endure or Collapse», Survival, XXXIX, 1, 1997, pp. 156-179;

- I. Daalder, «The End of Atlanticism», Survival, XLV, 2, 2003, pp. 147-166.

Teaching methods

Lectures and class discussion of the readings.

Assessment methods

Oral exam

Teaching tools

Students should buy their own copy of Thucydides's Histories (Italian translation by S. Savino, Milano, Garzanti, 1974 and following editions) and bring it always to class.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Cesa