Morgenthau's Six Principles of Political Realism

Morgenthau created his six principles of political realism which have been studied and used as a basis for many people. Tickner had a lot of critiques Morgenthau’s principles “that it is a partial description of international politics because it is based on assumptions about human nature that are partial and that privilege masculinity.” I can see both of their arguments and I agree with one of them on some points while I agree with the other on different points.

When it comes to both of their first points, I side with Tickner that dynamic objectivity should be used rather than Morgenthau who said politics are governed by objective laws. I also agree with Tickner and her second point that states there is no set national interest. Morgenthau said that interest was defined in terms of power but interest throughout a state varies. Not everyone agrees on everything and feels the same depending on what the subject is. I agree with points made by both parties when it comes to the third point and power. I agree with Morgenthau that power is objective but no meaning is fixated to that power. People will use power for what every interests them and their goals. Max Weber was quoted saying, “Interests (material and ideal), not ideas, dominate directly the actions of men. Yet the "images of the world" created by these ideas have very often served as switches determining the tracks on which the dynamism of interests kept actions moving.” On the other hand, I agree with Tickner stating that aspects are ignored in Morgenthaus’s definition like working collectively. Regarding the fifth point, I think states should stay away from doing actions that are against universal morals. 

Overall, the six principles of political realism that Morgenthau wrote strongly differ from what Tickner wrote. They both make strong points and both overlap with my personal thoughts. 

 

Comments

  1. IngridFebruary 8, 2022 at 8:15 AM

    I totally agree with you about which principles you side with. I think its important to have perspectives from both Tickner and Morgenthau because both ways of thinking have critical points that should be implemented into conversation about international relations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jack CahalaneFebruary 8, 2022 at 8:51 PM

    This was a very solid post. I think your discussion on Tickner's view of national interest is an especially important one. As you pointed out, interest is not always viewed through the lens of power, but rather interests can lie in socio-political values, economic, and cultural ones.

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