Is it possible to preserve national security through ethical policies?
Richard Ned Lebow seeks to show that ethics are actually essential
to the national interest. Recapturing the wisdom of classical realism
through a close reading of the texts of Thucydides, Clausewitz and Hans
Morgenthau, Lebow argues that, unlike many modern realists, classical
realists saw close links between domestic and international politics, and
between interests and ethics. Lebow uses this analysis to offer a powerful
critique of post-Cold-War American foreign policy. He also develops an
ontological foundation for ethics and makes the case for an alternate ontology
for social science based on Greek tragedy’s understanding of life
and politics. This is a topical and accessible book, written by a leading
scholar in the field.