ID | 131710 |
Title Proper | Pouvoir, puissance, and politics |
Other Title Information | Hans Morgenthau's dualistic concept of power? |
Language | ENG |
Author | Rösch, Felix |
Publication | 2014. |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | Hans Morgenthau's concept of power is widely debated among scholars of International Relations. Superficial accounts present Morgenthau's concept of power in the Hobbesian tradition as a means of self-preservation; however, more thorough investigations demonstrate Morgenthau's psychogenic and praxeological understanding. By referring to Sigmund Freud and Max Weber, such accounts identify Morgenthauian power as the ability to dominate others. This article contributes to this discourse by demonstrating that Morgenthau separated power into two dualistic conceptualisations. Although analytically Morgenthau worked with a concept of power understood as domination, normatively - in reference to Friedrich Nietzsche and Hannah Arendt - he promoted a concept of power that focused on the will and ability to act together. Elaborating this dualistic concept has wider implications for current International Relations because it reminds scholars to be self-reflexive. In addition, it is argued that a Morgenthauian scholarship helps scholars to gain a more profound understanding of depoliticising tendencies in Western democracies. |
`In' analytical Note | Review of International Studies Vol.40, No.2; April 2014: p.349-365 |
Journal Source | Review of International Studies Vol.40, No.2; April 2014: p.349-365 |
Key Words | Dualistic Concept ; Dualistic Power ; Politics ; Democracy ; Western Power ; Western Politics ; Superficial Account ; Hobbesian Tradition ; International Relations - IR ; Max Weber ; Analytically Morgenthau ; Hans Morgenthau's ; Concept of Power ; Separated Power ; Sigmund Freud |