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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
A Series Of Footnotes To Plato's Philosophers, Kevin M. Cherry
A Series Of Footnotes To Plato's Philosophers, Kevin M. Cherry
Political Science Faculty Publications
In her magisterial Plato's Philosophers, Catherine Zuckert presents a radically new interpretation of Plato's dialogues. In doing so, she insists we must overcome reading them through the lens of Aristotle, whose influence has obscured the true nature of Plato's philosophy. However, in her works dealing with Aristotle's political science, Zuckert indicates several advantages of his approach to understanding politics. In this article, I explore the reasons why Zuckert finds Aristotle a problematic guide to Plato's philosophy as well as what she sees as the character and benefits of Aristotle's political theory. I conclude by suggesting a possible reconciliation between …
Sell Unipolarity? The Future Of An Overvalued Concept, Jeffrey W. Legro
Sell Unipolarity? The Future Of An Overvalued Concept, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
For at least the past thirty years, scholarship on international relations has been bewitched by a simple proposition: the polarity of the international system is a central cause of great power strategies and politics. The number of "poles" (dominant countries) in the system is like an invisible fence that shapes states as if they were dogs with electronic collars or a Skinner box that conditions national "rats." States can choose to ignore the fence or box, but if they do, they must pay the consequences. The polarity of the international system as defined by the number of great powers - …
Virtue, Richard Dagger
Virtue, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
In political theory, the word virtue usually refers to the disposition or character traits appropriate to a citizen. Someone who takes the responsibilities of citizenship seriously, to the point of putting the common good ahead of his or her personal interests, is thus said to display civic virtue. Political theorists have frequently warned that such virtue cannot be taken for granted, however, and many of them have urged that steps be taken to promote or foster civic virtue. This concern for the fragility of civic virtue is a clear theme in ancient (or classical) political thought, but it has …
Purpose Transitions: China And The American Response, Jeffrey W. Legro
Purpose Transitions: China And The American Response, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
We know that China is rising, but what will China do with that power? Distracted by power trends, both American policymakers and political scientists have not paid enough attention to purpose--what states intend to do with their power. Power is critical in international relations, but it is not destiny. The dominant lens for understanding the rise of China has been power transition theory, which insightfully probes the effects of power trajectories between rising and falling countries (e.g., the expected future of China and the United States). Yet what we also need to understand is "purpose transition"--that is, when and …
Bilateralism, Jeffrey W. Legro
Bilateralism, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
Bilateralism concerns relations or policies of joint action between two parties. It can be contrasted with unilateralism (where one party acts on its own) and multilateralism (where three or more parties are involved). Typically, the term has applications concerning political, economic, and security matters between two states. Bilateralism has both costs and benefits, and there is a debate on its merits relative to unilateral or multilateral approaches.
Utilitarianism And Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory, David Miller, Richard Dagger
Utilitarianism And Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory, David Miller, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
In this chapter we sketch a body of political thought that became predominant in the second half of the twentieth century among academic political philosophers, primarily in the English-speaking world, but increasingly elsewhere, too. To call this type of political thought ‘analytical’ may not be particularly revealing, but no other term better describes the movement in question. Sometimes ‘liberal political theory’ is used, and there is indeed a close connection between analytical theory and liberalism. But that label is in one way too broad and in another too narrow for this kind of political thinking: too broad because liberalism has …
Autonomy, Domination, And The Republican Challenge To Liberalism, Richard Dagger
Autonomy, Domination, And The Republican Challenge To Liberalism, Richard Dagger
Political Science Faculty Publications
Like Sunstein and other advocates of 'republican' or 'civic' liberalism, I believe that it is historically unsound and politically unwise to insist on a sharp distinction between liberalism and republicanism. Others disagree, however, and there is much to be learned from their position even if, ultimately, we should not adopt it. Those who take this more radical neo-republican view advance two main lines of argument: first, that the liberal emphasis on neutrality and procedural fairness is fundamentally at odds with the republican commitment to promoting civic virtue; and, second, that republicans and liberals conceive of liberty or freedom in incompatible …
Is Anybody Still A Realist?, Jeffrey W. Legro, Andrew Moravcsik
Is Anybody Still A Realist?, Jeffrey W. Legro, Andrew Moravcsik
Political Science Faculty Publications
Realism, the oldest and most prominent theoretical paradigm in international relations, is in trouble. The problem is not lack of interest. Realism remains the primary or alternative theory in virtually every major book and article addressing general theories of world politics, particularly in security affairs. Controversies between neorealism and its critics continue to dominate international relations theory debates. Nor is the problem realism’s purported inability to make point predictions. Many specific realist theories are testable, and there remains much global conflict about which realism offers powerful insights. Nor is the problem the lack of empirical support for simple realist predictions, …
The Military Meaning Of The New Soviet Doctrine, Jeffrey W. Legro
The Military Meaning Of The New Soviet Doctrine, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
The current ferment in Soviet military doctrine has led to uncertainty and debate over its implications. On one hand, Gorbachev's peaceful rhetoric, backed by force reductions, is competing with the Bolshoi's ballerinas for favorable Western press reviews. Public opinion-and many public officials-perceive a reduced military threat from the Soviet army. On the other hand, skeptics believe that recent doctrinal changes are compatible with a modernized, more efficient Soviet military machine. In their view, the Soviet army is definitely changing, but the threat will not. A review of the operational implications of the new Soviet security themes indicates that neither the …