Reinhold Niebuhr And International Relations Theory

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 rose to prominenece in the 1930s and 1940s for his vociferous opposition both to Nazism and to isolationism as an American response to that threat. He rejected both pacifism and the legalism of the just war tradition. His pragmatic and realist approach to the ethics of force eschews absolute rules or restrictions. The work examines Niebuhr's consequentialist approach to ethics and war from the perspective of political theory.

(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 (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.""--

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.

The 1954 Conference on Theory, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, featured a 'who's who' of scholars and practitioners debating what would become the foundations of international relations theory. Assembling his own team of experts, the editor revisits a seminal event in the discipline.

This volume picks up a rather uninvested field of international relations theory: the influence of religion on Realism as well as the power of Realism to address religious issues in world politics. Although classical scholars of Realism rarely mention religion explicitly in their well-known work, this volume suggests that Realism offers serious ground for taking religion and faith into account as well as evaluating the impact of religion on its theoretical framework: how religion and religious worldviews influence and affect the theoretical framework of Realism, and how Realism approach religious issues in international relations as a relatively new field of international studies. Although international relations scholars now widely deal with issues of religion, large portions of the theoretical underpinning are missing. In addressing this lack, the volume illustrates the possibility of reform and change in Realism. Furthermore, the chapters reach out to normative statements. The contributors offer a theoretical view on religion in international relations in the context of Realism but always connect this with actual, real-world related political problems. The volume takes into account not only classical thinkers and approaches of Realism but also present-day authors dealing with ethical and normative questions of international relations in the aftermath of 9/11. Offering a fresh perspective on the influence of religion on international relations theory, this work will be of great interest to scholars of religion and international relations, international relations theory, and political philosophy