Session 7: The Same Debate?

Keeping the American foreign policy as the centre of focus, Hans J Morgenthau’s work presents yet ‘Another ‘Great Debate’’ between the realist and the ‘utopian’ approaches.  The political realist thinker hereby talks of the differing visions of the nature of humanity, society, and politics.

To begin with, Morgenthau suggests that America uses the theory of balance of power as a guiding principle of their foreign policy. However, the public supports the idea that the policies have been framed according to the “humanist and pacifist traditions”. This conflict in how the policy is framed or presented has been of a particular interest in the field of international relations. Where America, being the super power that it is preaches ‘humanistic’ values and urges the others to follow them too, it also uses them as an excuse to intervene and interfere into other states. The invasion in Afghanistan and Iraq can be taken as examples of the case. The said conflict in the foreign policy can be linked to the States’ national interest which Morgenthau mentions in the second section of the reading. Every political action, he says, is directed towards increasing or demonstrating power. He further clarifies that even though seeking power and pursuing interests is inherent in human nature, the means to achieve these ends are not constant or the same or everyone. A change in doing so occurs constantly depending upon the changing circumstances of the international politics. These then translate into how one seeks to achieve the balance of power, or to gain power and expand it. Near the conclusion, Morgenthau agrees that war s may be fought in the name of moral principles, however, the way it is done reflects immensely on a nation’s political philosophy. For instance, the American invasion in Afghanistan after 9/11, is often seen as a realist approach taken by America to demonstrate and expand power in Asia and thus reflects poorly on the ‘humanist and pacifist’ values that it preaches.