Thucydides on Ripeness and Conflict Resolution

Forde, Steven

doi:10.1111/j.0020-8833.2004.00296.x

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Indeed, long before the formal emergence of the discipline of psychology, observers identified psychologically laden constructs that they applied to political power, war, and other issues that continue to be of interest to scholars in IS. Recently, for example, Forde (2004) examined Thucydides' use, well over two millennia ago, of the psychological underpinnings of ''ripeness'' to account for the history of the Peloponnesian War, illustrating the longevity of psychological constructs in interpreting international relations.…”

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confidence: 99%

Applying Psychology to International Studies: Challenges and Opportunities in Examining Traumatic Stress

McDermott

Wernimont

Koopman

2011

International Studies Perspectives

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The application of psychological perspectives to international studies (IS) is an area of growing research. This review provides a brief overview of interdisciplinary scholarship on psychology in IS, with a particular description of its application to examining traumatic stress. Psychological variables and methods can help IS to achieve greater explanatory power. Using a variety of methods such as surveys, simulations, and case studies to investigate psychological constructs in the international context can overcome the limitations of relying on any single approach. Several psychological constructs with potential applicability to understanding traumatic stress in particular are discussed to illustrate the application and limitations of psychological perspectives in IS. With so many theories and methods, psychology offers rich future possibilities for novel ways to examine IS. For many years, scholars have applied psychological perspectives to enrich our understanding of international studies (IS) (Lasswell 1930;Lasswell, Miriam, and Smith 1950;Jervis 1976;Janis 1982). Indeed, long before the formal emergence of the discipline of psychology, observers identified psychologically laden constructs that they applied to political power, war, and other issues that continue to be of interest to scholars in IS. Recently, for example, Forde (2004) examined Thucydides' use, well over two millennia ago, of the psychological underpinnings of ''ripeness'' to account for the history of the Peloponnesian War, illustrating the longevity of psychological constructs in interpreting international relations.The purpose of this review is to provide a brief assessment of the interdisciplinary study of psychology and IS, and to provide an illustration of an application in the domain of traumatic stress. Because of the enormous literature in this area across many areas of psychology and IS, no attempt will be made here to provide any kind of complete summary. Rather, this review will attempt to offer a more practical overview and evaluation of the state of the scholarship in this area, with particular attention to one area of application in trauma research. We briefly discuss the institutionalization of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of psychology and international relations, describe some important

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confidence: 99%

Applying Psychology to International Studies: Challenges and Opportunities in Examining Traumatic Stress

McDermott

Wernimont

Koopman

2011

International Studies Perspectives

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“…So could the war have been avoided, particularly if the dispute over Megara was more about conflicting religious rather than secular narratives? Perhaps, as Forde has said, 86 war was unavoidable because the causes were too deep, too intractable, to brook more than a momentary pause in the momentum towards open conflict. Indeed, no matter how we interpret the war from 431-04 BCE, whether as a single war or as two discrete events, the fact that it takes place in the shadow of the 'First' Peloponnesian War, from 461-45 BCE, means that from 461-04 the Athenians and Spartans were engaged in a 'hot' war for 36 of 58 years -a powerful testimonial to enduring hostility.…”

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confidence: 99%

Thucydides, amended: religion, narrative, and IR theory in the Peloponnesian Crisis

Dolgert¹

2012

Rev. Int. Stud.

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AbstractMost of our knowledge of the Peloponnesian War comes from the text of Thucydides' History, yet IR scholars are strangely credulous when evaluating Thucydides' pronouncements. I explore what Thucydides does not tell us, and suggest that his text obscures important information regarding the outbreak of the war. Thucydides has a secular bias which leads him to discount the Spartan religious self-narrative, but by attending to this schema, in which Sparta sees itself in the role of the pious defender of moderation pitted against the corrupt Athenians, we gain a richer understanding of the chain of events that led to war. Contemporary scholars have too readily adopted Thucydides' perspective on this issue, but by assessing Thucydides' data using insights drawn from contemporary cognitive theories of narrative and image we see that misperceptions based in the conflicting Athenian and Spartan narratives played an important role in the escalation of the crisis.

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“…Waltz, 1979). They refer to similar dynamics before the onset of Westphalia as evidence (Forde, 2004). A discerning mind would probe further.…”

Section: A Taking Ideology Out Of Realismmentioning

confidence: 94%

Global Presumptions

Ling

2006

Cooperation and Conflict

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The New School Georg Sørensen examines world-order change by referring to four schools of thought: '(a) the realist concern of politico-military balance of war; (b) the liberal concern of the make-up of international institutions and the emergence of global governance; (c) the constructivist concern of the realm of ideas and ideology … and (d) the IPE [international political economy] … concern of the economic realm of production, finance, and distribution' (p. 344). Sørensen contends that we are in an interregnum where 'a new stable order … has not been established but significant elements of the old order remain in place' (p. 358). Still, Sørensen believes, 'chaos is not upon us' (p. 359). 'For the first time since Westphalia', he notes, 'transition from one order to another is not happening through war between the great powers' (p. 358). All we need to watch out for is whether the interregnum 'has enough to offer the less privileged half of the world's population and what the reactions will be if that turns out not to be the case' (p. 359).I admit I'm confused. Sørensen draws on Robert Cox's observation that 'a stable world order is based on a fit between … material capabilities, ideas, and institutions' (p. 345). Given that Sørensen's four schools of thought all point to the same set of power relations on a global scale, otherwise known as neo-liberal elite rule, albeit from different angles, doesn't this constitute a 'fit'? And, if so, don't we have an ongoing, if not necessarily stable, 'world order'? On what basis, then, does Sørensen claim that there is a transition in world ordering, defined as 'a governing arrangement among states, meeting the current demand for order in major areas of concern' (p. 344)? Even more, why should we believe Sørensen's assurances that nothing drastic is going to happen, that we can muddle along, expecting more of the same?Sørensen presumes his problematique. He does not show us in concrete terms where the world order is changing, nor how, nor in what ways, nor why. He merely tells us that there are these four schools of thought without

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Thucydides on Ripeness and Conflict Resolution

Cited by 11 publications

References 26 publications

Applying Psychology to International Studies: Challenges and Opportunities in Examining Traumatic Stress

Applying Psychology to International Studies: Challenges and Opportunities in Examining Traumatic Stress

Thucydides, amended: religion, narrative, and IR theory in the Peloponnesian Crisis

Global Presumptions

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