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Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 – July 19, 1980) was a German-American jurist and political scientist who was one of the major 20th-century figures in the study of
international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...
. Morgenthau's works belong to the tradition of
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...
in
international relations theory International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories a ...
; he is usually considered among the most influential realists of the post-World War II period. Morgenthau made landmark contributions to
international relations theory International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories a ...
and the study of
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
. His ''
Politics Among Nations ''Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace'' is a political science book by Hans Morgenthau published in 1948. The book introduces the concept of political realism, presenting a realist view of power politics. This concept played ...
'', first published in 1948, went through five editions during his lifetime and was widely adopted as a textbook in U.S. universities. While Morgenthau emphasized the centrality of power and "the national interest", the subtitle of ''Politics Among Nations''"the struggle for power and peace"indicates his concern not only with the struggle for power but the ways in which it is limited by ethics, norms and law. In addition to his books, Morgenthau wrote widely about international politics and U.S.
foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...
for general-circulation publications such as ''
The New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was ...
'', '' Commentary'', ''Worldview'', ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'' and ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
''. He knew and corresponded with many of the leading intellectuals and writers of his era, such as
Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...
,
George F. Kennan George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly hist ...
,
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...
and
Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. Arendt was born ...
. At one point in the early
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, Morgenthau was a consultant to the
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
when Kennan headed its Policy Planning Staff, as well as a second time during the Kennedy and
Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
administrations until he was dismissed by Johnson when he began to publicly criticize American policy in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
. For most of his career, however, Morgenthau was esteemed as an academic interpreter of U.S. foreign policy.


Education, career, and personal life

Morgenthau was born in an
Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
family in
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
,
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
in 1904. After attending the Casimirianum, he continued his education at the universities of
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
,
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, and
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
. He received his doctorate in 1929 with a thesis entitled ''International Jurisdiction: Its Nature and Limits'', and pursued postdoctoral work at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...
in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He taught and practiced law in Frankfurt before emigrating to the United States in 1937, after several interim years in Switzerland and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. One of his first jobs in the U.S. was teaching night school at
Brooklyn College , mottoeng = Nothing without great effort , established = , parent = CUNY , type = Public university , endowment = $98.0 million (2019) , budget = $123.96 m ...
. From 1939 to 1943, Morgenthau taught in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
and taught at Keneseth Israel Shalom Congregation there. Morgenthau then was a professor at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
until 1973, when he took a professorial chair at the City University of New York (CUNY). Morgenthau was an elected member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
and the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. On moving to New York, Morgenthau separated from his wife, who remained in Chicago partly because of medical issues. He is reported to have tried to initiate plans to start a new relationship while in New York, with Ethel Person (d. 2012), a psychiatrist at Columbia University. On October 8, 1979, Morgenthau was one of the passengers on board
Swissair Flight 316 On 7 October 1979, a Swissair DC-8 crashed while attempting to land at Athens-Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece. Of the 154 passengers and crew on board, 14 were killed in the accident. The crash Swissair Flight 316 was an in ...
, which crashed while trying to land at Athens-Ellinikon International Airport. The flight had been destined for Bombay and Peking. Morgenthau died on July 19, 1980, shortly after being admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York with a perforated ulcer. He is buried in the Chabad section of Montefiore Cemetery, in proximity to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, with whom he had a respectful relationship.


European years and functional jurisprudence

Morgenthau completed his doctoral dissertation in Germany in the late 1920s. It was published in 1929 as his first book, ''The International Administration of Justice, Its Essence and Its Limits''. The book was reviewed by
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...
, who was then a jurist teaching at the University of Berlin. In an autobiographical essay written near the end of his life, Morgenthau related that, although he had looked forward to meeting Schmitt during a visit to Berlin, the meeting went badly and Morgenthau left thinking that he had been in the presence of (in his own words) "the demonic". By the late 1920s Schmitt was becoming the leading jurist of the rising Nazi movement in Germany, and Morgenthau came to see their positions as irreconcilable. (The editors of Morgenthau's ''The Concept of the Political'' ee belowstate that "the reader of orgenthau's''The Concept of the Political'' ... will easily recognize that Morgenthau deplored Schmitt's understanding of the political on moral grounds and conceptual grounds.") Following the completion of his doctoral dissertation, Morgenthau left Germany to complete his Habilitation dissertation (license to teach at universities) in Geneva. It was published in French as ''La Réalité des normes en particulier des normes du droit international: Fondements d'une théorie des normes'' (The Reality of Norms and in Particular the Norms of International Law: Foundations of a Theory of Norms). It has not been translated into English. The legal scholar
Hans Kelsen Hans Kelsen (; ; October 11, 1881 – April 19, 1973) was an Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He was the author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, which to a very large degree is still valid today. Due to the rise ...
, who had just arrived in Geneva as a professor, was an adviser to Morgenthau's dissertation. Kelsen was among the strongest critics of
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...
. Kelsen and Morgenthau became lifelong colleagues even after both emigrated from Europe to take their respective academic positions in the United States. In 1933, Morgenthau published a second book in French, ''La notion du "politique"'', which was translated into English and published in 2012 as ''The Concept of the Political''. In this book Morgenthau seeks to articulate the difference between legal disputes between nations and political disputes between nations or other litigants. The questions driving the inquiry are: (i) Who holds legal power over the objects or concerns being disputed? (ii) In what manner can the holder of this legal power be changed or held accountable? (iii) How can a dispute, the object of which concerns a legal power, be resolved? and (iv) In what manner will the holder of the legal power be protected in the course of exercising that power? For Morgenthau, the end goal of any legal system in this context is to "ensure justice and peace". In his work in the 1920s and 1930s, Morgenthau sought a "functional jurisprudence," an alternative to mainstream international law. He borrowed ideas from
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
,
Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas p ...
,
Roscoe Pound Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 30, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a memb ...
, and others. In 1940 Morgenthau set out a research program for legal functionalism in the article "Positivism, Functionalism, and International Law". Francis Boyle has written that Morgenthau's post-war writings perhaps contributed to a "break between international political science and international legal studies." However, ''Politics Among Nations'' contains a chapter on international law, and Morgenthau remained an active contributor to the subject of the relationship between international politics and international law until the end of his career.


American years and political realism

Hans Morgenthau is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the realist school in the 20th century. This school of thought holds that nation-states are the main actors in international relations and that the main concern of the field is the study of
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
. Morgenthau emphasized the importance of "the national interest," and in ''Politics Among Nations'' he wrote that "the main signpost that helps political realism to find its way through the landscape of international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power." Morgenthau is sometimes referred to as a classical realist or modern realist in order to differentiate his approach from the structural realism or neo-realism associated with
Kenneth Waltz Kenneth Neal Waltz (; June 8, 1924 – May 12, 2013) was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field ...
. Recent scholarly assessments of Morgenthau show that his intellectual trajectory was more complicated than originally thought. His realism was infused with moral considerations—though not always acknowledged as such—and during the last part of his life he favored supranational control of nuclear weapons and strongly opposed the U.S. role in the Vietnam War (see below).


Realism and ''Politics Among Nations'' (1948)

Morgenthau's '' Scientific Man versus Power Politics'' (1946) argued against an overreliance on science and technology as solutions to political and social problems. The book presented a "pessimistic view of human nature" centered on a universal lust for power and the inevitability of selfishness. ''Scientific Man versus Power Politics'' also argued that, in Robert Jervis's words, "much of modern Liberalism fails to understand the contingent nature of its own knowledge." Starting with the second edition of ''Politics Among Nations'', Morgenthau included a section in the opening chapter called "Six Principles of Political Realism".Hans J. Morgenthau
''Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace''
Fifth Edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, pp. 4–15.
The principles, paraphrased, are: # Political realism believes that politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature. # The main signpost of political realism is the concept of interest defined in terms of
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
, which infuses rational order into the subject matter of politics, and thus makes the theoretical understanding of politics possible. Political realism avoids concerns with the motives and
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
of statesmen. Political realism avoids reinterpreting reality to fit the policy. A good foreign policy minimizes risks and maximizes benefits. # Realism recognizes that the determining kind of interest varies depending on the political and cultural context in which foreign policy is made. It does not give "interest defined as power" a meaning that is fixed once and for all. # Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the tension between the moral command and the requirements of successful political action. Realism maintains that universal moral principles must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and place, because they cannot be applied to the actions of states in their abstract universal formulation. # Political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the moral laws that govern the universe. # The political realist maintains the autonomy of the political sphere; the statesman asks "How does this policy affect the power and interests of the nation?" Political realism is based on a pluralistic conception of human nature. The political realist must show where the nation's interests differ from the moralistic and legalistic viewpoints. Morgenthau argued in ''Politics Among Nations'' that skillful diplomacy drawing on these principles could lead to stability via the balance of power. He wrote that "the balance of power and policies aiming at its preservation are not only inevitable, but an essential stabilizing factor in a society of sovereign nations." (For further discussion, see section on Criticism, below.) In practice, however, countries "actively engaged in the struggle for power must actually aim not at a balance -- that is, equality -- of power, but at superiority of power in their own behalf," Morgenthau wrote. The reason is partly that the relative strength of countries can be difficult to calculate, since key elements of national power, such as "the quality of government," are elusive and frequently change. Because "no nation can foresee how large its miscalculations will turn out to be, all nations must ultimately seek the maximum of power obtainable under the circumstances. Only thus can they hope to attain the maximum margin of safety commensurate with the maximum of errors they might commit."


Center for the Study of American Foreign and Military Policy

In the 1950s, Morgenthau directed the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
’s Center for the Study of American Foreign and Military Policy. Among other things, he sought to rebuild the American government’s resources on “China Studies,” after many experts on
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and Sino-American relations had been publicly discredited during the
Second Red Scare McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
. Morgenthau approached Chinese immigrant and political scientist
Tsou Tang Tsou Tang (; 18 December 1918 – 7 August 1999) was a China-born American political scientist, best known for his book ''America's Failure in China'' (1963) and studies of contemporary Chinese politics. He was on the faculty of University of Chic ...
to explore the Sino-American relationship using both American and Chinese materials. Morgenthau trusted Tsou, having served on Tsou's committees for his master's and PhD theses. Tsou's 1963 book, ''America’s Failure in China, 1941-50'', drew upon his research at the center.


1955: "Dual state" theory

In a 1955 article in the ''
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...
'', Morgenthau quoted others speaking about a "dual state" existing in the United States: the democratic façade of elected politicians who operate according to the law, and a hidden
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...
hierarchy and shadow government that operates to monitor and control the former. This has been said to be the origin of the notion of a
deep state in the United States According to an American political conspiracy theory, the deep state is a clandestine network of actors alongside members of the federal government in high-level financial and high-level industrial roles. The theory posits that the conglomera ...
.


Dissent on the Vietnam War

Morgenthau was a strong supporter of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. When the Eisenhower administration gained the White House, Morgenthau turned his efforts towards a large amount of writing for journals and the press in general. By the time of Kennedy's inauguration in 1961, he had become a consultant to the
Kennedy administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 ...
. After Johnson became president, Morgenthau became much more vocal in his dissent concerning American participation in the Vietnam War, for which he was dismissed as a consultant to the Johnson administration in 1965. Morgenthau sparred with Johnson's advisors
McGeorge Bundy McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Foun ...
and
Walt Rostow Walt Whitman Rostow (October 7, 1916 – February 13, 2003) was an American economist, professor and political theorist who served as National Security Advisor to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1969. Rostow worked ...
. Morgenthau's dissent concerning American involvement in Vietnam, which he viewed mainly as a civil war whose "global significance" was "remote," brought him considerable public and media attention. On 21 June 1965, Morgenthau debated Bundy live on television under the title ''Vietnam Dialogue: Mr. Bundy and the Professors'' with
Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's ...
as the moderator. During the debate, Bundy accused Morgenthau of being a defeatist and pessimist, citing his 1961 statement that the Pathet Lao were destined to win the Lao civil war, leading Morgenthau to reply: "I may have been dead wrong on Laos, but it doesn't mean I am dead wrong on Vietnam."Langguth, ''Our Vietnam,'' p.368. Bundy then brought up a statement Morgenthau made in 1956, praising President Diem of South Vietnam for creating a "miracle." The American journalist A.J. Langguth wrote that Bundy's point was irrelevant as Diem had been assassinated in 1963, but Bundy made it sound as if Morgenthau was opportunistic and inconsistent. Bundy was generally regarded as having won the debate by viewers at the time. In these years Morgenthau continued to write prolifically, publishing a three-volume collection of his essays in 1962.


American years after 1965

Starting in 1960, Morgenthau became increasingly concerned with the revolutionary implications of nuclear weapons and the possibility of nuclear war, which he maintained would be a moral calamity of an unprecedented kind. He remarked in the journal ''Christianity and Crisis'' that "no such radical qualitative transformation of the structure of international relations has ever occurred in history." While in the 1950s and earlier, Morgenthau had tended to emphasize, in William Scheuerman's words, "the continuities of human history," his recognition of the radical novelty of nuclear weapons led, from the early 1960s onward, to a stress on discontinuity, as represented by the possibility of a civilization-ending nuclear conflict. Morgenthau's views on this issue were influenced by
Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (, ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. After being trained in and practicing psychiatry, Jaspe ...
' ''The Future of Mankind,'' which he reviewed in 1961 for '' Saturday Review''. After 1965, Morgenthau became a leading voice in the discussion of
just war theory The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war i ...
in the modern nuclear era. Just war theory was further developed in the work of Paul Ramsey,
Michael Walzer Michael Laban Walzer (born 1935) is an American political theorist and public intellectual. A professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, he is editor emeritus of '' Dissent'', an intellectual magazin ...
, Jeff McMahan, and other scholars. Morgenthau's book ''Truth and Power,'' published in 1970, collected his essays from the previous turbulent decade dealing with both foreign policy, including Vietnam, and U.S. domestic politics, e.g. the civil rights movement. Morgenthau dedicated the book to
Hans Kelsen Hans Kelsen (; ; October 11, 1881 – April 19, 1973) was an Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He was the author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, which to a very large degree is still valid today. Due to the rise ...
, "who has taught us through his example how to speak Truth to Power." Morgenthau's last major book, ''Science: Servant or Master,'' was dedicated to his colleague
Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...
and published in 1972. In summer 1978, Morgenthau wrote his last co-authored essay titled "The Roots of Narcissism," with Ethel Person of Columbia University. This essay was a continuation of Morgenthau's earlier study of this subject in his 1962 essay "Public Affairs: Love and Power," where Morgenthau engaged some of the themes that Niebuhr and the theologian
Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theolo ...
were addressing. Morgenthau admired Tillich's book ''Love, Power and Justice,'' and he wrote a second essay related to the book's themes. More recently, Anthony Lang has recovered and published Morgenthau's extensive course notes on Aristotle (for a course Morgenthau taught while at the New School for Social Research during his New York years). The comparison of Morgenthau to Aristotle has been further explored by Molloy. Morgenthau was a tireless reviewer of books during the several decades of his career as a scholar in the United States. He wrote nearly a hundred book reviews, including almost three dozen for ''The New York Review of Books'' alone. Morgenthau's last two book reviews were not written for ''The New York Review of Books'' and were of the books ''Soviet Perspectives on International Relations, 1956–1967'', by William Zimmerman and ''Work, Society and Culture'' by Yves Simon. The last book review Morgenthau wrote for ''The New York Review of Books'' appeared in 1971. Morgenthau's first book review, written in 1940, was of ''Law, the State, and the International Community'', by James Brown Scott. Morgenthau also commented on the
Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 ...
. Like Hannah Arendt, Morgenthau dedicated time and effort to the support of the state of Israel. Both Morgenthau and Arendt made annual trips to Israel to lend their established academic voices to its still young and growing academic community during its inaugural decades as a new nation. Morgenthau's interest in Israel also extended to the Middle East more generally, including the politics of oil. Morgenthau's interest in Israel extended further to related issues of geopolitics, and issues related to Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn. Morgenthau remained throughout the Cold War an active participant in the discussion of U.S. foreign policy. He wrote in this connection about
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and his role in the Nixon administration. Morgenthau in 1977 also wrote a brief "Foreword" on the theme of terrorism as it began to emerge in the 1970s. In addition to addressing current political issues, Morgenthau also wrote about the philosophy of democratic theory when faced with situations of crisis or tension.


Criticism

The reception of Morgenthau's work can be divided into three phases. The first phase occurred during Morgenthau's life up to his death in 1980. The second phase was between 1980 and the one hundred year commemoration of his birth that took place in 2004. The third phase of the reception of his writings is between the centenary commemoration and the present, which shows a vibrant discussion of his continuing influence.


Criticism during European years

In Morgenthau's early career, the book review of his dissertation by
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...
had a lasting and negative effect on Morgenthau. Schmitt had become a leading juristic voice for the rising Nazi movement in Germany, and Morgenthau came to see their positions as incommensurable, although it has been argued that Schmitt and Morgenthau engaged in a "hidden dialogue" in which they influenced each other. Morgenthau subsequently met
Hans Kelsen Hans Kelsen (; ; October 11, 1881 – April 19, 1973) was an Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He was the author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, which to a very large degree is still valid today. Due to the rise ...
at Geneva while a student, and Kelsen's treatment of Morgenthau's writings left a lifelong positive impression upon the young Morgenthau. Kelsen in the 1920s had emerged as Schmitt's most thorough critic and had earned a reputation as a leading international critic of the then rising National Socialist movement in Germany, which matched Morgenthau's own negative opinion of Nazism.


Criticism during American years

While Morgenthau's ''Politics Among Nations'' had a large influence on a generation of scholars in global politics and international law, Morgenthau's views did not go unchallenged. On the one hand, some critics rejected the basic premises of Morgenthau's realist perspective. On the other hand, some theorists working within a realist framework, such as Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer, took issue with aspects of Morgenthau's approach even while sharing some of his basic assumptions. In his ''Theory of International Politics'' (1979),
Kenneth Waltz Kenneth Neal Waltz (; June 8, 1924 – May 12, 2013) was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field ...
urged more attention to purely "structural" elements of the international system, especially the distribution of capabilities among states. Waltz's neorealism was more self-consciously scientific than Morgenthau's version of realism. Waltz argued that balances of power recurrently form whether or not states intend that result. Waltz criticized Morgenthau for seeing the maintenance of a balance of power as dependent on states' motives and conscious aims, leading to what Waltz called a "distortion" of balance-of-power theory. In contrast to Waltz's "defensive" realism, John Mearsheimer presented a theory of "offensive realism" in ''The Tragedy of Great Power Politics'' (2001). Mearsheimer agreed with Morgenthau that states seek to maximize their relative power but disagreed about the cause: whereas Morgenthau posited, in Mearsheimer's words, "a will to power inherent in every state," Mearsheimer argued that the "anarchical" character of the international system pushes states to acquire as much power as possible to maximize their chances of survival. Another area of criticism concerned Morgenthau's treatment of the concept of the national interest. One scholar has suggested that Morgenthau erred in thinking that "the 'rational core of the national interest' can be ascertained by objective analysis." On this account, "the concept of the national interest simply cannot bear the weight Morgenthau assigned to it." Morgenthau's concept of politics itself has been seen, at least by some writers, as a firmer basis for his position. While Morgenthau viewed politics as a struggle for power, he also viewed it as a struggle conducted by specific means and within certain limits. From this perspective, Morgenthau's distinction between political power and military power represented an effort "to insulate" the properly political realm "from the intrusion of physical violence and domination." The conceptual distinction between political and military power may not always have influenced Morgenthau's views on specific policy issues, but it probably did so in the case of nuclear weapons. His concern with nuclear weapons and the arms race led to discussions and debates with
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and others. Morgenthau saw many aspects of the nuclear arms race as a form of irrationality requiring the attention of responsible diplomats, statesmen, and scholars. However, Morgenthau's view that a world state would be required to solve the problem of nuclear weapons is in tension with the skepticism about global governance that his realist perspective implies.


Criticism of Morgenthau's legacy

Christoph Frei's intellectual biography of Morgenthau, published in English translation in 2001 (from the earlier German edition) was one of the first of many substantial publications about Morgenthau in the 2000s. Christoph Rohde published a biography of Morgenthau in 2004, still available only in German. Also around 2004, commemorative volumes were published on the occasion of the centenary of Morgenthau's birth. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago has contrasted Morgenthau's political realism to the neo-conservativism prevailing during the G.W. Bush Administration in the context of the 2003 Iraq war. Morgenthau saw the ethical and moral component of international politics as an integral part of the reasoning process of the international statesman and the essential content of responsible scholarship in international relations. Various aspects of Morgenthau's thought, as well as his place in relation to twentieth-century intellectual currents and the disciplinary history of political science and international relations, continue to be explored by scholars (see Further Reading section, below).


Selected works

* '' Scientific Man versus Power Politics'' (1946) Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. * ''
Politics Among Nations ''Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace'' is a political science book by Hans Morgenthau published in 1948. The book introduces the concept of political realism, presenting a realist view of power politics. This concept played ...
: The Struggle for Power and Peace'' (1948, and subsequent editions) New York NY: Alfred A. Knopf. * '' In Defense of the National Interest'' (1951) New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. * '' The Purpose of American Politics'' (1960) New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. * ''Crossroad Papers: A Look Into the American Future'' (ed.) (1965) New York, NY: Norton. * ''Truth and Power: Essays of a Decade, 1960–70'' (1970) New York, NY: Praeger. * ''Essays on Lincoln's Faith and Politics''. (1983) Lanham, MD: Univ. Press of America for the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the Univ. of Virginia. Co-published with a separate text by David Hein. * ''The Concept of the Political'' (2012; orig. 1933) Intro. by H. Behr and F. Roesch. Trans. by M. Vidal. Palgrave Macmillan. For a complete list of Morgenthau's writings, see "The Hans J. Morgenthau Page" at
Google Sites Google Sites is a structured wiki and web page creation tool included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google For ...
.


See also

* Morgenthau Lectures by the
Carnegie Council The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City-based 501(c)3 public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named ''Church ...
*
E. H. Carr Edward Hallett Carr (28 June 1892 – 3 November 1982) was a British historian, diplomat, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr was best known for '' A History of Soviet R ...
* Kenneth W. Thompson *
Stephen Walt Stephen Martin Walt (born July 2, 1955) is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International relations at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and a political scientist. A member of the realist school of international relatio ...
* Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago


References

Notes Further reading * Bain, William. "Deconfusing Morgenthau: Moral Inquiry and Classical Realism Reconsidered." ''Review of International Studies'' 26, no. 3 (2000): 445–64. * Behr, Hartmut, and Amelia Heath. "Misreading in IR Theory and Ideology Critique: Morgenthau, Waltz and Neo-Realism." ''Review of International Studies'' 35 (2009): 327–49. * Bell, Duncan, ed. ''Political Thought and International Relations: Variations on a Realist Theme.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. * Bessner, Daniel and Nicolas Guilhot. "How Realism Waltzed Off." ''International Security'', 40 no.2 (2015): 87–118. * Bird, Kai. ''The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms'', Simon and Schuster, 2000. * Buzan, Barry. "The Timeless Wisdom of Realism?," in ''International Theory: Positivism and Beyond,'' ed. S. Smith et al. Cambridge University Press, 1996. * Conces, Rory J. "Rethinking Realism (or Whatever) and the War on Terrorism in a Place Like the Balkans." ''Theoria'' 56 (2009): 81–124. * Cozette, Murielle. "Reclaiming the Critical Dimension of Realism: Hans J. Morgenthau on the Ethics of Scholarship." ''Review of International Studies'' 34 (2008): 5–27. * Craig, Campbell. ''Glimmer of a New Leviathan: Total War in the Realism of Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and Waltz.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. * Donnelly, Jack. ''Realism and International Relations.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. * Frei, Christoph. ''Hans J. Morgenthau: An Intellectual Biography.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001. * Gellman, Peter. "Hans J. Morgenthau and the Legacy of Political Realism." ''Review of International Studies'' 14 (1988): 247–66. * Goldstein, Gordon. ''Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam.'' Times Books/Henry Holt, 2008. * Greenberg, Udi. ''The Weimar Century: German Émigrés and the Ideological Foundations of the Cold War''. Princeton University Press, 2014. * Griffiths, Martin. ''Realism, Idealism and International Politics.'' London: Routledge, 1992. * Guilhot, Nicolas. "The Realist Gambit: Postwar American Political Science and the Birth of IR Theory." ''International Political Sociology'' 4, no. 2 (2008): 281–304. * Guilhot, Nicolas. ''After the Enlightenment: Political Realism and International Relations in the Mid-Twentieth Century''. Cambridge University Press, 2017. * Hacke, Christian, Gottfried-Karl Kindermann, and Kai M. Schellhorn, eds. ''The Heritage, Challenge, and Future of Realism: In Memoriam Hans J. Morgenthau (1904–1980).'' Göttingen, Germany: V&R unipress, 2005. * Hoffmann, Stanley. "Hans Morgenthau: The Limits and Influence of 'Realism'." In ''Janus and Minerva.'' Boulder, CO.: Westview, 1987, pp. 70–81. * Jervis, Robert. "Hans Morgenthau, Realism, and the Scientific Study of International Politics." ''Social Research'' 61, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 853–876. * Jütersonke, Oliver. "Hans J. Morgenthau on the Limits of Justiciability in International Law." ''Journal of the History of International Law'' 8, no. 2 (2006): 181–211. * Kane, John. ''Between Virtue and Power: The Persistent Moral Dilemma of U.S. Foreign Policy'', Yale University Press, 2008, chapter 15. * Kaplan, Robert D. (2012) ''The Revenge of Geography: What the Maps Tell Us About the Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate.'' New York: Random House. * Karkour, Haro L. "Illiberal and Irrational? Trump and the Challenge of Liberal Modernity in US Foreign Policy," ''International Relations'', published online 1 September 2020. * Karkour, Haro L. and Dominik Giese."Bringing Morgenthau's Ethics In: Pluralism, Incommensurability, and the Turn from Fragmentation to Dialogue in IR." ''European Journal of International Relations,'' published online July 6, 2020. * Klusmeyer, Douglas. "Beyond Tragedy: Hannah Arendt and Hans Morgenthau on Responsibility, Evil and Political Ethics." ''International Studies Review'' 11, no.2 (2009): 332–351. * Knoll, Erwin and Judith Nies McFadden, eds., ''War Crimes and the American Conscience.'' Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970 (report of a conference on "War and National Responsibility" in which Morgenthau participated). * Koskenniemi, Martti. ''The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law 1870–1960'' (Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures). * Lang, Anthony F., Jr., ed. ''Political Theory and International Affairs: Hans J. Morgenthau on Aristotle's The Politics.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004. * Lebow, Richard Ned. ''The Tragic Vision of Politics.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. * Lichtheim, George. "The Politics of Conservative Realism." In ''The Concept of Ideology and Other Essays,'' New York: Vintage, 1967, pp. 129–150. * Little, Richard. ''The Balance of Power in International Relations: Metaphors, Myths and Models.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. * Mazur, G.O., ed. ''One Hundred Year Commemoration to the Life of Hans Morgenthau.'' New York: Semenenko, 2004. * Mazur, G.O., ed. ''Twenty-Five Year Memorial Commemoration to the Life of Hans Morgenthau.'' New York: Semenenko Foundation, Andreeff Hall, 12, rue de Montrosier, 92200 Neuilly, Paris, France, 2006. * Mearsheimer, John J. "Hans Morgenthau and the Iraq War: Realism Versus Neo-Conservatism." ''openDemocracy.net'' (2005). * Mearsheimer, John J. ''The Tragedy of Great Power Politics,'' W.W. Norton & Co., 2001; updated edition, 2014. * Milne, David. ''America's Rasputin: Walt Rostow and the Vietnam War'', Hill & Wang, 2008. * Mollov, M. Benjamin. ''Power and Transcendence: Hans J. Morgenthau and the Jewish Experience.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002. * Molloy, Sean. "Aristotle, Epicurus, Morgenthau and the Political Ethics of the Lesser Evil." ''Journal of International Political Theory'' 5 (2009): 94–112. * Molloy, Sean. ''The Hidden History of Realism: A Genealogy of Power Politics.'' New York: Palgrave, 2006. * Murray, A. J. H. "The Moral Politics of Hans Morgenthau." ''The Review of Politics'' 58, no. 1 (1996): 81–107. * Myers, Robert J. "Hans J. Morgenthau: On Speaking Truth to Power." ''Society'' 29, no. 2 (1992): 65–71. * Neacsu, Mihaela. ''Hans J. Morgenthau's Theory of International Relations: Disenchantment and Re-Enchantment.'' Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. * Peterson, Ulrik. "Breathing Nietzsche's Air: New Reflections on Morgenthau's Concept of Power and Human Nature." ''Alternatives'' 24, no. 1 (1999): 83–113. * Pichler, Hans-Karl. "The Godfathers of 'Truth': Max Weber and Carl Schmitt in Morgenthau's Theory of Power Politics." ''Review of International Studies'' 24 (1998): 185–200. * Pin-Fat, V. "The Metaphysics of the National Interest and the 'Mysticism' of the Nation-State: Reading Hans J. Morgenthau." ''Review of International Studies'' 31, no. 2 (2005): 217–36. * Rafshoon, Ellen Glaser. "A Realist's Moral Opposition to War: Hans J. Morgenthau and Vietnam." ''Peace and Change'' 26 (2001): 55–77. * Rice, Daniel. ''Reinhold Niebuhr and His Circle of Influence''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. * Rösch, Felix.
Pouvoir, Puissance, and Politics: Hans Morgenthau's Dualistic Concept of Power
." ''Review of International Studies'' 40, no. 2 (2013): 349–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210513000065 * Rösch, Felix. ''Power, Knowledge, and Dissent in Morgenthau's Worldview''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. * Rohde, Christoph. Hans J. Morgenthau und der weltpolitische Realismus: Die Grundlegung einer realistischen Theorie. P. Weidmann und Christoph Rohde von VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften (16. Februar 2004) * Rosenthal, Joel H. ''Righteous Realists: Political Realism, Responsible Power, and American Culture in the Nuclear Age.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991. * Russell, Greg. ''Hans J. Morgenthau and the Ethics of American Statecraft.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990. * Scheuerman, William E. ''Hans Morgenthau: Realism and Beyond.'' Cambridge: Polity, 2009. * Scheuerman, William E. "Realism and the Left: The Case of Hans J. Morgenthau." ''Review of International Studies'' 34 (2008): 29–51. * Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., "National Interests and Moral Absolutes." In ''The Cycles of American History'' (Houghton Mifflin, 1986), pp. 69–86. * Schuett, Robert. "Freudian Roots of Political Realism: The Importance of Sigmund Freud to Hans J. Morgenthau's Theory of International Power Politics." ''History of the Human Sciences'' 20, no. 4 (2007): 53–78. * Schuett, Robert. ''Political Realism, Freud, and Human Nature in International Relations: The Resurrection of the Realist Man.'' New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. * Shilliam, Robbie. "Morgenthau in Context: German Backwardness, German Intellectuals and the Rise and Fall of a Liberal Project." ''European Journal of International Relations'' 13, no. 3 (2007): 299–327. * Smith, Michael J. ''Realist Thought from Weber to Kissinger.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1986. * Spegele, Roger D. ''Political Realism in International Theory.'' Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996. * Thompson, Kenneth W., and Robert J. Myers, eds. ''Truth and Tragedy: A Tribute to Hans J. Morgenthau.'' augmented ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1984. * Tickner, J. Ann. "Hans Morgenthau's Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist Reformulation." ''Millennium: Journal of International Studies'' 17, no.3 (1988): 429–40. * Tjalve, Vibeke Schou. ''Realist Strategies of Republican Peace: Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and the Politics of Patriotic Dissent.'' New York: Palgrave, 2008. * Tsou, Tang. ''America's Failure in China, 1941–50''. * Turner, Stephen, and G.O. Mazur. "Morgenthau as a Weberian Methodologist." ''European Journal of International Relations'' 15, no. 3 (2009): 477–504. * Walker, R.B.J. "Realism and Change," in ''Inside/Outside: International Relations as Political Theory'' (Cambridge U.P., 1993), pp. 104–124. * Waltz, Kenneth N. ''Theory of International Politics.'' McGraw-Hill, 1979. * Williams, Michael C., ed. ''Realism Reconsidered: The Legacy of Hans Morgenthau in International Relations.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. * Williams, Michael C. ''The Realist Tradition and the Limits of International Relations.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. * Williams, Michael C. "Why Ideas Matter in International Relations: Hans Morgenthau, Classical Realism, and the Moral Construction of Power Politics." ''International Organization'' 58 (2004): 633–65. * Wong, Benjamin. "Hans Morgenthau's Anti-Machiavellian Machiavellianism." ''Millennium: Journal of International Studies'' 29, no. 2 (2000): 389–409. * Young-Bruehl, Elisabeth. ''Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World'', Second Edition, Yale University Press, 2004. * Zambernardi, Lorenzo. ''I limiti della potenza. Etica e politica nella teoria internazionale di Hans J. Morgenthau.'' Bologna: Il Mulino, 2010. * Zambernardi, Lorenzo. "The Impotence of Power: Morgenthau's Critique of American Intervention in Vietnam." ''Review of International Studies'' 37 (2011): 1335–1356. * Zambernardi, Lorenzo."The limits of power: Knowledge, ethics, and foreign policy in Hans J. Morgenthau’s international theory." ''International Relations'' 36, no. 1 (2022): 3-22. * Zimmer, Louis B. ''The Vietnam War Debate: Hans J. Morgenthau and the Attempt to Halt the Drift into Disaster.'' Lexington Books, 2011.


External links


Guide to the Hans Morgenthau Collection
at the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenthau, Hans 1904 births 1980 deaths American political scientists German political scientists Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni City University of New York faculty Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States International relations scholars People from Coburg Political realists University of Chicago faculty Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Members of the American Philosophical Society 20th-century political scientists