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Classical Realism (international Relations)
Classical realism is an international relations theory from the realist school of thought. Realism makes the following assumptions: states are the main actors in the international relations system, there is no supranational international authority, states act in their own self-interest, and states want power for self-preservation. Classical realism differs from other forms of realism in that it places specific emphasis on human nature and domestic politics as the key factor in explaining state behavior and the causes of inter-state conflict. Classical realist theory adopts a pessimistic view of human nature and argues that humans are not inherently benevolent but instead they are self-interested and act out of fear or aggression. Furthermore, it emphasizes that this human nature is reflected by states in international politics due to international anarchy. Classical realism first arose in its modern form during the interwar period of (1918–1939) as the academic field of in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melian Dialogue
The siege of Melos occurred in 416 BC during the Peloponnesian War, which was a war fought between Athens and Sparta. Melos is an island in the Aegean Sea roughly east of mainland Ancient Greece, Greece. Though the Melians had ancestral ties to Sparta, they were neutral in the war. Athens invaded Melos in the summer of 416 BC and demanded that the Melians surrender and pay tribute to Athens or face annihilation. The Melians refused, so the Athenians laid siege to their city. Melos surrendered in the winter, and the Athenians executed the men of Melos and enslaved the women and children. This siege is best remembered for the #Melian Dialogue, Melian Dialogue, a dramatization of the negotiations between the Athenians and the Melians before the siege, written by the classical Athenian historian Thucydides. In the negotiations, the Athenians offered no moral justification for their invasion, but instead bluntly told the Melians that Athens needed Melos for its own ends and tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revisionist State
Revisionist state is a term from power transition theory within the wider field of international relations. It describes states whose objective is to change or put an end to the current system. The term assumes a direct correlation between a state's hegemony, both political and economic, and its standing as either a status quo state or a revisionist state. Powerful and influential nations in international relations such as the United Kingdom, France and other nations like Japan that are better placed in the world order, are likely to fall under the category of status quo states while Russia, North Korea, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ... and other nations dissatisfied with their place in the international system are termed revisionist states. See also * Polar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Interest
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni della Casa around the year 1547. The expression "reason of state" (Ragion di Stato) was formulated in 1580, found in the works of Giovanni Botero, who was influenced by, and wrote criticisms of the Italian diplomat and political thinker Niccolò Machiavelli, popularly known as the author of The Prince and The Discourses on Livy. Prominently, Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu justified France's intervention on the Protestant side, despite its own Catholicism, in the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) as being in the national interest in order to block the increasing power of the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor. At Richelieu's prompting, Jean de Silhon defended the concept of ''raison d'État'' as "a mean between what conscience permits and affairs re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of existence, being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of reality and every entity within it. To articulate the basic structure of being, ontology examines the commonalities among all things and investigates their classification into basic types, such as the Theory of categories, categories of particulars and Universal (metaphysics), universals. Particulars are unique, non-repeatable entities, such as the person Socrates, whereas universals are general, repeatable entities, like the color ''green''. Another distinction exists between Abstract and concrete, concrete objects existing in space and time, such as a tree, and abstract objects existing outside space and time, like the number 7. Systems of categories aim to provide a comprehensive inventory of reality by employing categories such as Substance t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Nature
Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or what it 'Meaning (psychology), means' to be human. This usage has proven to be controversial in that there is dispute as to whether or not such an essence actually exists. Arguments about human nature have been a central focus of philosophy for centuries and the concept continues to provoke lively philosophical debate. While both concepts are distinct from one another, discussions regarding human nature are typically related to those regarding the comparative importance of genes and Social environment, environment in Developmental psychology, human development (i.e., 'nature versus nurture'). Accordingly, the concept also continues to play a role in academic fields, such as both the natural science, natural an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Rights And Legal Rights
Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', '' fundamental'' and ''inalienable'' (they cannot be repealed by human laws, though one can forfeit their enjoyment through one's actions, such as by violating someone else's rights). Natural law is the law of natural rights. * Legal rights are those bestowed onto a person by a given legal system (they can be modified, repealed, and restrained by human laws). The concept of positive law is related to the concept of legal rights. Natural law first appeared in ancient Greek philosophy, and was referred to by Roman philosopher Cicero. It was subsequently alluded to in the Bible, and then developed in the Middle Ages by Catholic philosophers such as Albert the Great, his pupil Thomas Aquinas, and Jean Gerson in his 1402 work "''De Vita Spirituali Animae."'' D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Of Nature
In ethics, political philosophy, social contract theory, religion, and international law, the term state of nature describes the hypothetical way of life that existed before humans organised themselves into societies or civilisations. Philosophers of the state of nature theory propose that there was a historical period before societies existed, and seek answers to the questions: "What was life like before civil society?", "How did government emerge from such a primitive start?", and "What are the hypothetical reasons for entering a state of society by establishing a nation-state?". In some versions of social contract theory, there are freedoms, but no rights in the state of nature; and, by way of the social contract, people create societal rights and obligations. In other versions of social contract theory, society imposes restrictions (law, custom, tradition, etc.) that limit the natural rights of a person. Societies existing before the political state are investigated and st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evil
Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generally seen as taking multiple possible forms, such as the form of personal moral evil commonly associated with the word, or impersonal natural evil (as in the case of natural disasters or illnesses), and in religious thought, the form of the demonic or supernatural/eternal. While some religions, world views, and philosophies focus on "good versus evil", others deny evil's existence and usefulness in describing people. Evil can denote profound immorality, but typically not without some basis in the understanding of the human condition, where strife and suffering ( cf. Hinduism) are the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Prince
''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, princes. Many commentators have viewed that one of the main themes of ''The Prince'' is that immoral acts are sometimes necessary to achieve political glory.: "Machiavelli is the only political thinker whose name has come into common use for designating a kind of politics, which exists and will continue to exist independently of his influence, a politics guided exclusively by considerations of expediency, which uses all means, fair or foul, iron or poison, for achieving its ends – its end being the aggrandizement of one's country or fatherland – but also using the fatherland in the service of the self-aggrandizement of the politician or statesman or one's party". From Machiavelli's correspondence, a version was apparentl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Of Florence
The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda of Tuscany, who controlled vast territories that included Florence. The Florentines formed a commune in Rabodo's (Matilda’s successor) successors' place. The republic was ruled by a council known as the Signoria of Florence. The signoria was chosen by the (titular ruler of the city), who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. During the Republic's history, Florence was an important cultural, economic, political and artistic force in Europe. Its coin, the florin, was the dominant trade coin of Western Europe for large scale transactions and became widely imitated throughout the continent. During the Republican period, Florence was al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations. The main functions of diplomats are representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state; initiation and facilitation of strategic agreements, treaties and conventions; and promotion of information, trade and commerce, technology, and friendly relations. Seasoned diplomats of international repute are used in international organizations (for example, the United Nations, the world's largest diplomatic forum) as well as multinational companies for their experience in management and Negotiation, negotiating skills. Diplomats are members of foreign services and diplomatic corps of various nations of the world. The sending state is required to get the consent of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
