The Origins of the Peloponnesian War, the Origins of the Peloponnesian War, and Theories of International Relations

Low, Polly

Abstract

This article investigates the theoretical assumptions and implications of De Ste. Croix’s approach to interstate politics in The Origins of the Peloponnesian War. It suggests that two approaches can be identified in the work: one which sees a fundamental connection between political systems within a state and that state’s conduct of interstate politics, and another, closer to conventional ‘Realist’ theories, which sees a clear dividing line between domestic and interstate politics, and in which interstate relations needs to be understood according to a distinct analytical framework. Although this tension was probably not a particular concern to De Ste. Croix himself, it does have a bearing on ongoing debates in International Theory; the final part of the article briefly explores the possibility that the concept of ‘compulsion’, important to both Thucydides’ and De Ste. Croix’s understanding of the causes of the Peloponnesian War, might provide a way of reconciling these two approaches.

Citation

Low, P. (2024). The Origins of the Peloponnesian War, the Origins of the Peloponnesian War, and Theories of International Relations. Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought, 41(1), 76-91. https://doi.org/10.1163/20512996-12340428

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 25, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 3, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-01
• Deposit Date: Nov 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2024
• Journal: Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought
• Print ISSN: 0142-257X
• Electronic ISSN: 2051-2996
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 76-91
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/20512996-12340428
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1897690