Realism In The Melian Dialogue

Realism contains certain core principles that can be applied to the Melian Dialogue. These include ideas such as a static, unchanging world in which there exists a constant struggle for power, and on the international stage this struggle exists between nation states. Evil remains steadfast in the world as well, ever affecting the political and social realm. This constant struggle for power equates to endless competition between states making peace an unobtainable illusion with a moderated or controlled peace the only realistic solution. In addition to these principles, Max Weber’s work promotes philosophies of realism also identifiable in the Dialogue.
Weber, a German sociologist and political economist throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries continued to …show more content…
By first examining the history of the famous Melian Dialogue, then applying the positive, realist theories of Thucydides and Weber, then contrasting these theories with Kant’s normative, cosmopolitan beliefs, this fundamental issue of international relations - the Melian Dialogue - can be utilized to further examine the possibility of ethical action in the world of nation states, leading to the conclusion that, while ideal, cosmopolitanism does not exist as a realistic option in international affairs due to the win-lose attitude seen in societies. Throughout the Dialogue accounts of realism are consistently illustrated while cosmopolitan beliefs never come to fruition, supporting the claim that realism exists as a genuine way of handling altercations between states while cosmopolitanism demonstrates a utopian model building towards world peace yet unobtainable due to the static nature of the world, held in place by those in power, refusing to relinquish their