Thucydides And The Peloponnesian War

The classical realism takes as its starting point the philosopher Thucydides works the Peloponnesian War, in which he describes the war between Athens and Sparta. The two rivals conquer each other's colonies in an attempt to win more allies and thus hold more power and strength than his enemy. This strength and power holdings leads, according to Thucydides (2006), to his own empire safety increases. "So THAT by conquering you We Shall Increase not only the size but the security of our Empire" (Thucydides, 2006: 44). Thus it is not only the power and strength that is the focus of relations between enemies, but also the interest in increasing the safety of their own empire. Furthermore, he believes that the conquest is part of a precautionary approach that each State must take into account and carefully weigh the benefits of a conquest against any risks that State may be exposed. "[...] Those Who Are Risking Their all on one cast find out what it Means Only When They are Already ruined; it never fails them in the period When Such a knowledge would enable them to take Precautions "(Thucydides, 2006: 45).

Thomas Hobbes' ideas have also been the basis for the classical realism, and especially his thoughts on humanity's natural state.
Nature hath made but so equal, in the faculties of the body, …show more content…
States are sovereign and are living in an anarchic society, like the human natural state and the society Hobbes (1996: 84) describes, without an overarching authority. The lack of an overarching authority means that the unfolding war, in which all states must revise their own interests, and can only rely on their own ability in providing the state with certainty. These interests are defined as power and are immutable (see Morgenthau 1993: 10). Political documents is exercised in accordance with the idea of the state's freedom and survival, without moral considerations (Morgenthau 1993: