Idealist

Hope to minimize conflict and maximize cooperation among nations

Focus attention on legal-formal aspects of international relations, such as international law and international organizations
Also focus on moral concerns such as human rights

Idealist

As early as the 14th Century the Italian poet Dante wrote of the “universality of man” and envisioned a unified world state
Immanuel Kant argued that doing good was an end unto itself rather than a means to some other end

Realist
While realists are just as interested as idealists in conflict management, realists are less optimistic about the effectiveness of international
law and organization and about the extent of international cooperation that is possible
Realists view international relations almost exclusively as a “struggle for power” among competing nation-states
States, like human beings, have an innate desire to
dominate others

Realist
The ultimate goal of all countries is security in a hostile, anarchic environment
Realist policies are determined by power calculations in pursuit of national security
Countries satisfied with their situation tend to pursue the status quo
Countries that are dissatisfied tend to be expansionist Alliances are made and broken based on the requirements of “realpolitik”

Realist
Realists focus on military strategy, the elements of national power, and the nature of national interests more so than international law and
organization
From WWII they learned that the way to prevent future wars was a “balance of power” capable of deterring would-be aggressors or on a
“concert of powers” willing to police the world

Realist

In the 16th Century Machiavelli had argued in The Prince that:

“it is far better to be feared than loved” “he ought not to quit good courses if he can help it, but should know how to
follow evil courses if he must”
“he will prosper most whose mode of acting best adapts itself to the character of the times; and conversely that he will be unprosperous,
with whose mode of
acting the times do not accord”

Social and political structures in Italy 15th ce

Political structure of late Middle Ages Italy and its unusual social climate allowed the emergence of a rare cultural change.
Italy did not exist as a political
entity in the early modern period. Instead, it was divided into smaller city states and territories
Kingdom of Naples controlled
south,
Republic of Florence & Papal
States center Milanese
& Genoese to the north & west FViefnteteinatnhs-ecaesntt.ury Italy was one of the most urbanised areas in
Europe

.....Social and political structures in Ital

Starting from 12th century
By 15th Century France, Spain (monastic), rest under Church.
Italy’s exit from Feudalism...City states. Oligarchic system. Church and Empire at bay.
Society based on merchants and commerce. Venice as great trading centres made them intellectual crossroads
Linked to this was anti-monarchical thinking, with tilt towards the virtues of liberty, fairness, justice, republicanism and good
administration.

Classical political theory accepts morality in political law. In contrast, Machiavelli argues that political action must always be considered
in light of its practical consequences rather than some lofty ideal
Machiavelli’s underlying view is that - lofty ideals translate into bad government. for a prince to act in accordance with virtue is often
detrimental to the state

The Prince …the political context

Unlike other political literature The Prince is far less theoretical and relies on highly practical considerations.
Unlike earlier thinkers Machiavelli presents historical evidence pragmatically to ground The Prince in real situations vaporising the
hypothetical notions of ideal states.

context
Earlier treatises assumed that a prince needed above all to be good, virtuous - in traditional sense.
Machiavelian virtue is in contemporary reality He challenges the civilization by saying
Prince could not be constrained by the demands of normal morality if he hoped to do
his job properly.
Tenets of traditional morality would not produce an effective ruler.
Politics must have its own rules.

The Prince …the political

context
In insisting that no single quality could be identified as ‘Virtue’ and pursued in every situation, Machiavelli became the political teacher of
Europe.
Generations learned from him to make political decisions with a hard new realism and sense that some form of deceit are not to be avoided
by any ruler who hopes to survive.
His teachings contributed to the core of the doctrines of ‘reason of state’ that became the basic political education of modern Europe.

Machiavellian Prince - Summary

Machiavelli elaborates the doctrine of “ Raison D Etat.” End justifies the Means
State is sovereign, autonomus and non-religious
A prince must combine the qualities of a lion and a fox Use a double standard of morality
Favour despotic rule
Maintain strong army
Human nature is low and ungrateful, so Prince must consider this nature of man
He should win the popularity of his people must not touch the property of the people
A prince must have council of wise men and not of flatterers Separate politics from religion
Remain free from emotions.

Raison D Etat
Reason of state.
Actions and policies promoting safety and security of the state. Because the state must preserve itself before it promotes the welfare of its
people. For preserving and safeguarding itself all means adopted by the state are justified by Machiavelli.
According to him in politics, one is guided by the harsh realities of political life which is a struggle for power and survival.
Independent, self-sufficient and well ordered and well maintained state, all means adopted by the state are justified
Prince should give priority to power. Morality and ethics have different spheres. It cannot be mingled with the reason of the state. To a
prince power of state is of supreme importance.

End justifies the Means

It is a very famous statement of Machiavelli which he justified for the “Reason of state”
He assumed that state is highest form of human association. State is to be worshipped like a deity even by sacrificing the individual
A ruler must remember that whatever brings success and power is virtuous even cunningness, shrewdness is justified Politics is the most
precarious game. It can never be played
in a decent and orderly manner
The state has some primary objectives and responsibilities like protection of life, maintenance of law and order and looking after wellbeing
of its members. Hence state must have adequate means at its disposal.

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS: REALISM

NOT IDEALISM

If an underlying principle is to be determined from Machiavelli’s ostensibly ‘realist’ and practical text, it might be that the end can justify
the means. That is to say, it’s OK to do bad things if it’s for a good reason. The problem here is that there is a very particular person who is
to be the one to decide what the good reason is: the prince.
This practical and rational (rather than idealistic) method of dealing with politics is communicated through the short text in aphoristic
statements such as:
‘Men have imagined republics and principalities that never really existed at all. Yet the way men live is so far removed from the way they
ought to live that anyone who abandons what is for what should be pursues his downfall rather than his preservation; for a man who
strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good.’ (Machiavelli, XV)

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS:

REALISM NOT IDEALISM - contd
‘The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other [feared and loved]; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far
safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.’ (Machiavelli, XVII)

‘Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is
very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and
always to observe them is injurious, and that to
appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed
that should you require not to be so, you may be able
and know how to change to the opposite. ’(Machiavelli, XVIII)

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS:

REALISM NOT IDEALISM - contd
Machiavelli’s logic is that being cruel, frightening or deceitful when necessary is better than being merciful, loved and honest because
people will be more likely to obey you, therefore allowing you to maintain power and achieve the ends you feel to be most significant.
However, despite this, a Prince must appear to be honest and good or else his people will not support him. This is again a matter of using the
means of diplomacy with one’s people so as to be able to do what one wishes ‘behind the scenes’.

CONCERNING CRUELTY AND

CLEMENCY
“If the ruler wants to keep hold of his new possessions, he must bear two things in mind: first, that the family of old prince be destroyed;
next. ”
Every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel. Nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency (XVII)

WHETHER IT IS BETTER TO BE LOVED THAN

FEARED
whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is
difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.
Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they
are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it
approaches they turn against you. (XVII)

WHETHER IT IS BETTER TO BE LOVED THAN

FEARED - contd
Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well
being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their
women. But when it is necessary for him to proceed against the life of someone, he must do it on proper justification and for manifest cause,
but above all things he must keep his hands off the property of others, because men more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss
of their patrimony.

WHETHER IT IS BETTER TO BE LOVED THAN

FEARED - contd
Besides, pretexts for taking away the property are never wanting; for he who has once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts for
seizing what belongs to others; but reasons for taking life, on the contrary, are more difficult to find and sooner lapse. But when a prince is
with his army, and has under control a multitude of soldiers, then it is quite necessary for him to disregard the reputation of cruelty, for
without it he would never hold his army united or disposed to its duties.(XVII)

State is sovereign, autonomus and

non-religious

State is superior to all associations in the human society. It is sovereign and is autonomous.
Moral and religious considerations cannot bind the prince. He is above and outside the morality. He can use religion to realize his ends.
Religion cannot influence politics and the church cannot control the state
Sovereign state enjoys absolute power over all individuals and institutions
divorced politics from theology and government from religion
Did not view the state as having a moral end and purpose but gave importance to man’s worldly life
Politics is an independent activity with its own principles and laws.

A prince must combine the

qualities of a lion and a fox
Advised the prince he should imitate the qualities of fox and lion
A fox might have shrewdness and foresight, but he is powerless without necessary force of a lion. Similarly a lion without shrewdness and
prudence of a fox would be reckless
Hence a ruler who wants to be very successful must combine in himself the qualities of both fox and lion. He must possess bravery of lion
and cunningness of fox
Physical force is necessary when there is anarchy and indiscipline. But law and morality is essential to check selfishness of people and to
generate civic virtues

Use double standard of politics

One for the ruler and another for his subjects.
Morality is not necessary for the ruler. He is creator of law and morality hence prince is above the both.
A ruler has primary duty of preserving the state. For this purpose he may use instruments of lie, conspiracy, killings and massacre etc.
Insisted that morality is essential for people. Only moral citizens willingly obey laws of the state and sacrifice their lives for their nation. It
cultivate civic sense and patriotic spirit.

Favoured despotic ruler

Did not recommend the republican form of Government, because republican form requires virtuous, honest and patriotic citizens.
Machiavelli says that the government is founded upon the weakness and insufficient capacity of men. If in a society men are corrupt and
selfish and the law is powerless, then normal administration is not possible at all.
A superior power is essential for bringing the society into order. The government with absolute power stop the excessive desires and control
the behaviour of the people.

Maintain strong army

Recommended constant military preparedness for the preservation of the state.

Prince should organize a strong army to meet any internal and external threat to his power.
Strong and regular army was must for a state for its own defense. The state try to build up its own independent, regular and faithful army.
Such an army should consist of its own citizens and be prepared not only to defend its national borders but also to expand.
The citizens must be trained for army service and there should be compulsory military training for all able persons.

Human nature is low and ungrateful, so

prince must consider this nature of man

Viewed men to be a compound of weakness, ungrateful, fear, lust for power and assumed all men are bad.
Prominent traits of human nature are
There is no limit to human desires. He is selfish and aggressive.
The masses are interested in security. They realize that only laws of the state can ensure security hence they co-operate with the state and
obey the laws.
People must be restrained by force because force breeds fear. Only force and repression can keep control and check on the evil tendencies in
man. Hence the method of government should be force and not persuasion.
By nature every human being is ambitious and remains unsatisfied. No human being is content with his position.
Thus human nature is selfish, power hungry, quarrelsome and guided by materialistic considerations. Only fear of punishment is a powerful
bond and it never fails.
Should try to win popularity of his
people
Prince should try to win popularity, goodwill and affection of his people. He should keep his subjects materially contented by not taxing
them. The prince should not interfere in age old customs and traditions of his people because by nature people are conservative. He should
not have craving for wealth and women of his own subjects. He should keep a watchful eye on his dissidents.

A prince must have council of wise

men and not of flatterers
Only way to safeguard yourself against flatterers is by letting people understand that you are not offended by the truth.
However if everyone can speak the truth then you lose respect.
A shrewd prince should adopt a middle way, choosing wise men for his government and allowing only those the freedom to speak the truth
to him and only concerning matters on which he asks their opinion.
The prince should also question these wise men thoroughly and listen to what they say before making up his own mind.

Separate politics from religion

Religion cannot influence politics and the church cannot control the state. In fact the sovereign state enjoys absolute power over all
individuals and institutions. As such the church is subordinate to the state
State is the highest form of social organisation and the most necessary of all institutions. It stands on a wholly different footing and must
therefore be judged by different standards
He said politics is an independent activity with its own principles and laws. State is non-religious and secular. It has its own rules of conduct
to follow.
Machiavelli sanctioned the use of immoral mans by the ruler whenever it was necessary to do so to save the state. Thus the separation of
politics from ethics is the essence of Machiavellian.

How princes should honour their word

Praiseworthy to be straightforward rather than crafty however for achieving great results cunningness is required
Combination of a lion and a fox succeeds. Lion to frighten off wolves and fox to recognize traps.
Prince should know how to colour his actions and to be a great liar and deceiver. The deceiver will always find someone ready to be
deceived.
What appears to be is more important because people in general judge by their eyes rather than by their hands.

Prince must be free from emotions

Prince should exploit emotions of his people for the purpose of the state. He should be cool, calculating and opportunist. His suggestion is
that a prince must know how to act as a beast.

choice of force against subjects

“Men must be either pampered or crushed, because they can get revenge for small injuries but not for grievous ones. So any injury a prince
does a man should be of such kind that there is no fear of revenge”.

On Political disorders
As doctors say of a wasting desease, to start with it is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; after a time, unless it has been diagnosed and
treated at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure.
“So it is in politics. Political disorders can be quickly healed if they are seen well advance ...only a prudent ruler has such
foresight

On Statecraft

“.....When the Cardinal of Rouen said to me that

the Italians did not understand war, I retorted that the French did not understand statecraft,
Because ,
if they understood it,
then they would not let the Church become so great”

The course of events in Italy has shown that how the greatness of the church and of Spain has been caused by France, and how the ruin of
France has been
caused by them.
Machiavelli derives – “Whoever is responsible for another’s becoming powerful ruins himself.”

On Fortune

Chapter 25: For my part I consider that it is better to be adventurous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her
under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who
go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with
more audacity command her.
For Machiavelli politics is masculine, it is power and control; fortune is feminine, it is anarchy. If not under control, it will be unpredictable
and dangerous. I won’t get into various feminist responses to this, but as you can imagine, the view Machiavelli has on human nature and
how people must behave can be questioned. Yet given his time, what was happening in Italy, and what he experienced, his perspective can
certainly be
understood. His influence, however, reaches far beyond Italy in
the 16th century, and remains with us today in how we study and understand the world of international relations.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
As defined by Ambrose
Bierce…
 “a strife of interest masquerading as a contest of principles”
 He speaks for the cynics
 But in politics, we cannot avoid questions of truth or falsity, good or bad.
 He is partly wrong;
 Politics is also the contest of moral
principles

Antisthesis – The Father of Cynicism

Political Philosophy


It is the serious search for comprehensive knowledge or wisdom about political things.

Political philosophy can be defined as philosophical reflection on how best to arrange our collective life - our political institutions and our
social practices, such as our economic system and our pattern of family life. (David Miller)

Problems dealt in Political Philosophy


Who

Moral foundations of legitimacy, liberty, equality,

justice &

Human conflict

Pursuit of power

Best social arrange- ments

should govern

human rights

State, its nature, purpose, & limits

Dimensions of Political Philosophy

Descriptive dimension
The aspect of philosophy that describe how things are
The six issues require a comprehensive knowledge of the facts about human nature and human social relationships

Dimensions of Political Philosophy

 Prescriptive or normative dimension
 The aspect of political philosophy that prescribes how things ought to be
 The need of knowledge concerning principles of evaluation that enable us to construct and apply a standard to judge politics

How are two dimensions related with each other?


The facts that we identify as worth describing in the human condition profoundly affect our evaluations and prescriptions
What we establish as a sound basis for prescription leads us to focus on certain facts concerning the human condition.

Political Philosophy

It begins with the assumption that such public
questions as obedience to the law, the best possible government, or the justice of public policies are in need of justification.
It is possible only in world where ends collide. – Sir Isaiah Berlin
It is an attempt to truly know both the nature of political things and the right to the good political order. – Leo Strauss

Political Science and Political Philosophy

Political Science

 Political Philosophy
predominantly deals with existing states of affairs, and insofar as it is possible to be amoral in its descriptions, it seeks a positive analysis of
social affairs

generates visions of the good social life: of what ought to be the ruling set of values and institutions that combine men and women together

Examples: constitutional issues, voting behavior, the balance of power, the effect of judicial review

connects readily with various branches and sub-disciplines of philosophy including philosophy of law and of economics

Conflict, Religion, Social status

Source of political conflict: DIFFERENCES

Gender class
Eco-nomic interests

Race

Conflict

 Edmund Burke:
 “the bulk of mankind are not excessively curious concerning any theories whilst they are really happy; and one symptom of an ill-
conducted state is the propensity of the people to resort to them.”

Conflict

 Many of the great or epic political philosophers have pursued their inquiries as a result of profound social conflict and decay.
 Their political philosophies and comprehensive visions…

St. Thomas Aquinas

“are like pearls: they are not produced without an irritant” (Thomas Spragens)

Conflict

Examples:
Plato’s philosophy resulted from
Socrates’ death
St. Augustine’s from the fall of Rome
Machiavelli’s from Italy’s disunity
Hobbes’s from the English Civil War

Conflict

 Contemporary political philosophies have resulted from:
 The Nazi Holocaust
 Crisis of liberal democracy
 Emergence of bureaucratic state
 Globalization
 Gender inequality
 Political correctness
 Nuclear proliferation
 Terrorism
 Various threats to individual liberty

Conflict

Political philosophies of the past emerged as a result of particular historical irritant; yet their texts also transcend their own times and
continue to challenge contemporary political thinkers and partisans to consider the richness of their alternative teachings as part of our
contemporary dialogues about our own problems.

Conflict


Philosophical approach to politics

Historical approach to politics

Helps us to seek knowledge of the real complexity of human needs, aspirations, and relationships

Most useful in helping us understand the “irritants” that contributed to political philosophers’ desires to write texts with comprehensive
visions

Philosophy and Diagnosis

 Political philosophers provide a comprehensive vision of the political when they raise questions and provide (often tentative) answers
about the most important factors that cause:
 conflict
 disorder
 corruption
 violence
 terrorism
 exploitation and
 revolution

Philosophy and Diagnosis

 For example:
 Hobbes examines human passions
 Plato on differences as the basis
for justice
 Machiavelli focuses on human deception and its relevance to successful political leadership
 Marx addresses the role that economic inequality and class conflict play in forming political system.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI

Philosophy and Diagnosis

 Political philosophers are not satisfied in simply describing public disorder or discontent;
 They seek to diagnose the causes of human conflict

 Thomas Spargens puts it:

 “the causal analysis which a political theorist provides in his examination of the sources of political disorder decisively shapes his
prescriptive conclusion. Sound
diagnoses must precede beneficial therapy.”

Political Philosophy and Political Therapy


 The political philosopher offers his or her prescription or therapy by identifying appropriate norms or standards, which help to resolve or
diminish human social conflicts, thereby creating a better political order.

Jeremy Bentham

Political Philosophy and Political Therapy


 Some questions raise by philosophers:
1. Which is the best form of government?
2. Are there proper limits to freedom?
3. What type of equality should be the basis of public policies – equal rights, equal opportunities, equal results?
4. What should be basis for just treatment of individuals or groups?
5. If the best form is not achievable, what is the most workable or best possible form under particular conditions?

Political Philosophy and Political Therapy


 There are conflicting norms among political philosophers like
 Plato’s “justice” – minding one’s own business
 Marx’s social “justice” – occurs when each person gives freely of his or her different talents for the public good and everyone’s basic
needs are equally provided for
 Hobbes’ “justice” – the social situation in which state’s sovereign is obeyed absolutely
 Which of these conflicting norms concerning justice is true or workable in terms of human needs, talents, and resources?

Political Philosophy and Political Therapy


 To Leo Strauss:
Human beings will never create a society free of contradictions – perhaps even including contradictory norms
 When we read philosophers and their different and conflicting norms, we are invited to reflect upon the norms we hold, or to discuss with
others whether we should accommodate, tolerate, integrate, or reject these norms in our own imperfect public life.

In Summary

Political philosophy has factual (descriptive), diagnostic (causal), and evaluative (prescriptive) dimensions

The major questions


Any political thinker is open to the possibility of truth regarding:

Wisdom about nature of the cosmos

Human nature and its relation to the cosmos

The good society

The role of politics in human life

The major questions


 What is the ultimate reality? Is it spirit of matter?
 Is the universe ordered or chaotic?
 Does God or gods exist?
 Is life random or providentially guided?
 Is the universe inclined toward the good and the just, as St. Thomas claims or is it devoid of objective moral purpose, as Nietzsche
claims?

 Can we know the answers or tentative answers to these questions? If so, how? By empirical evidence? By reason? By faith and divine
revelation?

The major questions


 Is the universe inclined toward good and the just, as St. Thomas Aquinas claims, or is it devoid of objective moral purpose, as Nietzsche
claims?
 Can we know the answers or tentative answers to these questions?
 If so, how? By empirical evidence? By reason? By faith and divine revelation?

End
