Niebuhrian International Relations

Reinhold Niebuhr's ideas about ethics, social justice, and foreign policy have been hugely influential for American political thought, and this has been true across the political spectrum, from progressive social justice activists to neo-conservatives. A one-time leader in the Socialist party, Niebuhr worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to found Americans for Democratic Action. Jimmy Carter took inspiration from his ideas about love and justice, and Barack Obama has praised him as one of his favorite philosophers. His theories have also influenced neoconservatives, many of whom cited his work to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Yet, Niebuhr never published a single, comprehensive book on his approach to international relations, and, because he was so prolific, one would have to sift through volumes of his work to try to construct such a unified vision. This book distills Niebuhr's disparate and heretofore difficult-to-access work on international relations into one concise and accessible volume. Drawing from the well-springs of Niebuhr's Christian social thought, the volume explores the depths of Niebuhr's views on human nature, race, collective life, U.S. foreign policy, Just War Theory, Cold War era containment, globalization, and the U.N. It then applies his approach to contemporary foreign policy issues such as the 2003 Iraq War, the Responsibility to Protect, and the rise of China. The book also considers Niebuhr's contribution to IR theory and contextualizes it in the present day revival of classical Realism with a multivariate, existentialist twist. Ultimately, the book asserts that Niebuhr's notion of a fallible, self-interested view of human nature, his dialectical approach, and a related moral dualism run throughout his work on politics and international relations as they did through the rest of his work.

This is the first book in international relations theory entirely devoted to the political thought of Reinhold Niebuhr. Focusing on the existential theology which lies at the basis of Reinhold Niebuhr’s theory of international politics, it highlights the ways in which Niebuhrian realism was not only profoundly theological, but also constituted a powerful existentialist reconfiguration of the Realist tradition going back to Saint Augustine. Guilherme Marques Pedro offers an innovative account of Reinhold Niebuhr’s eclectic thought, branching out into politics, ethics, history, society and religion and laying out a conceptual framework through which his work, as much as the realist tradition of international political thought as a whole, can be read. The book calls for the need to revisit classic thinkers within IR theory with an eye to their interdisciplinary background and as a way to remind ourselves of the issues that were at stake within the field as it was growing in autonomy and diversity – issues which remain, regardless of its disciplinary development, at the core of IR’s concerns. This book offers an important contribution to IR scholarship, revealing the great historical wealth, intellectual originality but also the limitations and paradoxes of one of the greatest American political thinkers of the twentieth century.

"Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) may have been the most influential and insightful American thinker of the twentieth century. In dealing with the intricacies of human nature, society, politics, ethics, theology, racism and international relations, Niebuhr the teacher, preacher, philosopher, social critic and ethicist, was highly influential and difficult to ignore during the Second World War and Cold War eras because of his intellectual heft and the novel manner in which he addressed the economic, spiritual, social and political problems of his time. This book distils Niebuhr's disparate and now difficult to access work into one volume, making it more easily accessible than ever before, at the same time bringing his work into the twenty first century. It argues that if he were alive today Niebuhr would be a champion of the U.N, a supporter of globalization, a fierce opponent of America's 2003 Iraq War (for all the reasons he opposed the Vietnam War), an advocate of the Responsibility to Protect, and a pragmatic hawk on China as it rises today. It also highlights his many contributions to international relations theory, from Realism to Liberalism to existentialism to the English School to constructivism. This is the first book that focuses exclusively on the international relations thought of Reinhold Niebuhr, one of Classical Realism's most important figures, one whom diplomat and Realist George Kennan called, "the father of us all.""--

(NOTE: New Readings noted by *.) I Morality and Politics 1 Realism The Melian Dialogue, Thucydides From The Prince Niccoli Machiavelli The War and American Churches Reinhold Niebuhr Political Power: A Realist Theory of International Politics Hans J. Morgenthau Diplomacy in the Modern World George F. Kennan 2 Just War and Idealism. Of War Thomas Aquinas The World Must Be Made Safe for Democracy; The Fourteen Points Woodrow Wilson 3 The Radical Critique Patriotism and Government; Patriotism and Christianity Leo Tolstoy Means and Ends; Passive Resistance; The Atom Bomb America and Japan and Mohandas K. Gandhi Vietnam: Setting the Moral Equation Howard Zinn II Debates over Methods and Theory 4 Defining International Relations Inquiry Long Range Research in International Relations Harold Guetzkow International Theory: The Case for a Classical Approach Hedley Bull The Incompleat Theorist: Insight Without Evidence J. David Singer The Third Debate: On the Prospects of International Theory in a Post-Positivist Era Yosef Lapid Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissident Thought in International Studies Richard K. Ashley and R.B.J. Walker 5 Challenging the Realist Paradigm International Relations or World Society? John Burton Coloring It Morgenthau: New Evidence for an Old Thesis on Quantitative International Politics John A. Vasquez Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory Robert W. Cox Conflict Resolution: Problem Solving Dean G. Pruitt and Jeffrey Z. Rubin III Foreign Policy and Global Conflict 6 Explanations of Foreign Policy Another Great Debate: The National Interest of the United States Hans J. Morgenthau National Security as an Ambiguous Symbol Arnold Wolfers Simulation and Reality: Validity Research Harold Guetzkow and Joseph J. Valadez How Decision-Makers Learn from History Robert Jervis Bureaucratic Politics: A Paradigm and Some Policy Implications Graham T. Allison and Morton H. Halperin Pre-Theories and Theories of Foreign Policy James N. Rosenau 7 Crisis. International Crisis as a Situational Variable Charles F. Hermann Perception and Action in the 1914 Crisis Ole R. Holsti and Robert C. North and Richard A. Brody From Conflict Among Nations Glenn H. Snyder and Paul Diesing 8 War. Of the Natural Condition of Mankind, as Concerning Their Felicity Misery and Thomas Hobbes Warfare Is Only an Invention Not a Biological Necessity Margaret Mead The Use of Mathematics; Arms Races Lewis F. Richardson Dangerous Dyads: Conditions Affecting the Likelihood of War, 1816-1965 Stuart A. Bremer Capabilities, Allocations, and Success in Militarized Disputes and Wars, 1816-1976 Frank W. Wayman and J. David Singer and Gary Goertz 9 Imperialism The Place of Imperialism in History V.I. Lenin A Structural Theory of Imperialism Johan Galtung From Nations in Conflict Nazli Choucri and Robert C. North IV The Search for Peace 10 The Balance of Power Some Problems of International Systems Research Morton A. Kaplan The Power Transition A.F.K. Organski From Theory of International Politics Kenneth N. Waltz 11 Politico-Military Strategy and Nuclear Deterrence On the Nature of War Karl Von Clausewitz The Three Types of Deterrence Herman Kahn The Gap Between Deterrence Theory and.

Reinhold Niebuhr's ideas about ethics, social justice, and foreign policy have been hugely influential for American political thought, and this has been true across the political spectrum, from progressive social justice activists to neo-conservatives. A one-time leader in the Socialist party, Niebuhr worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to found Americans for Democratic Action. Jimmy Carter took inspiration from his ideas about love and justice, and Barack Obama has praised him as one of his favorite philosophers. His theories have also influenced neoconservatives, many of whom cited his work to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Yet, Niebuhr never published a single, comprehensive book on his approach to international relations, and, because he was so prolific, one would have to sift through volumes of his work to try to construct such a unified vision. This book distills Niebuhr's disparate and heretofore difficult-to-access work on international relations into one concise and accessible volume. Drawing from the well-springs of Niebuhr's Christian social thought, the volume explores the depths of Niebuhr's views on human nature, race, collective life, U.S. foreign policy, Just War Theory, Cold War era containment, globalization, and the U.N. It then applies his approach to contemporary foreign policy issues such as the 2003 Iraq War, the Responsibility to Protect, and the rise of China. The book also considers Niebuhr's contribution to IR theory and contextualizes it in the present day revival of classical Realism with a multivariate, existentialist twist. Ultimately, the book asserts that Niebuhr's notion of a fallible, self-interested view of human nature, his dialectical approach, and a related moral dualism run throughout his work on politics and international relations as they did through the rest of his work.

This book is a major contribution to the debate about philosophy and method in history and international relations. The author analyses IR scholarship from classical realism to quantitative and postmodern work.

When Barack Obama praised the writings of philosopher theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the run up to the 2008 US Presidential Elections, he joined a long line of top politicians who closely engaged with Niebuhr's ideas, including Tony Benn, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King Jr. and Dennis Healey. Beginning with his early ministry amongst industrial workers in early twentieth century Detroit, Niebuhr displayed a passionate commitment to social justice that infused his life's work. Rigorously championing 'Christian Realism' he sought a practically orientated intellectual engagement with the political challenges of his day. His ideas on International Relations have also helped to shape debate amongst leading academic thinkers and policy makers. In both Christian and secular contexts he continues to attract new readers today. In this timely re-evaluation both critics and disciples of Niebuhr's work reflect on his notable contribution to Christian social ethics, the Christian doctrine of humanity, and the engagement of Christian thought with contemporary politics. The authors bring a wide range of expertise from both sides of the Atlantic, indicating how a re-evaluation of Niebuhr's thought can help inform contemporary debates on Christian social ethics and other wider theological issues.