{{Italic title''Power Politics'' is a book by

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

scholar

Martin Wight Robert James Martin Wight (1913–1972) was one of the foremost British scholars of international relations in the twentieth century. He was the author of '' Power Politics'' (1946; revised and expanded edition 1978), as well as the seminal essa ...

, first published in 1946 as a 68-page essay. After 1959 Wight added twelve further chapters. Other works of Wight's were added by his former students,

Hedley Bull Hedley Norman Bull (10 June 1932 – 18 May 1985) was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford until his death from cancer in 1985. He was Montague ...

and Carsten Holbraad, and a combined volume was published in 1978, six years after Wight's death. The book provides an overview of international politics featuring many elements of ''

Realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...

'' analysis.

Religion

Wight, a pacifist and devout Christian, was appalled by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He favoured a revival of the biblical term

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

to describe recurrent warlike situations in history - Antichrist in this context meaning a "demonic concentration of power" rather than a person. In chapter one he observes that the modern state has become "the ultimate loyalty for which men will fight. The mediaeval world of 'rights and wrongs' has been replaced by a modern one of 'powers, forces, dynasties and ideas".

Synopsis

Wight begins: "Power politics is a colloquial phrase for international politics." He explains that states exploit power to achieve expansion and dominance; "every dominant power aspires... to become a universal empire." For diplomatic reasons, "dominant powers" are euphemized as "Great Powers ... who wish to monopolise (sic) the right to create international conflict". Great Powers win and lose their status through violence, and are defined by their ability to wage war; they are decreasing in number, but those remaining are increasing in size. He argues that War and revolution go together: communism provoked fascist and Nazi responses; and both ideologies were led by "gangsters" seeking to rule the world. To suppose that revolutionary ideologies have now been discarded is to show ignorance of human nature, says Wight. According to Wight, though states are few in number, they are widely diverse and atypical in character. States are more or less immortal, and are therefore unindictable in law. International law is weak, unclear, decentralized, unpoliced, and therefore unenforceable; there is no sovereign power above states. Therefore, he concludes "domestically, power is constrained by law; but internationally, law is governed and constrained by the struggle for power ... There is no international society, only "international anarchy". International politics is really "power politics", and the causes of war are inherent therein". And, furthermore, '"diplomacy is a 'European invention imposed on the world,'" which "consists in information, negotiation, and communication, but also, covertly, in espionage, subversion and propaganda". Later chapters examine alliances, the "balance of power", arms races, disarmament, and the supra-national authority of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. Wight concludes that "security" is inseparable from moral behavior and cites

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and Franklin Roosevelt as examples of the latter.

Reputation

According to Charles Manning,

Sir Michael Howard Sir Michael Eliot Howard (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University ...

, and

Hans Morgenthau Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 – July 19, 1980) was a German-American jurist and political scientist who was one of the major 20th-century figures in the study of international relations. Morgenthau's works belong to the tradition o ...

Martin Wight is one of the finest international thinkers of the 20th century. M. Nicholson says: "Within the 'English school' of International Relations, the work of Martin Wight is placed in particularly high esteem. More perhaps than anyone else, he is the scholar who did IR as it ought to be done." Reviewing ''Power Politics'', F.P. King calls it a delightful book "to browse through, contemplate, refute and enjoy more than once ... Resplendent history, allusions, wit and reasoning." F. P. King, "

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...

", volume 84/3, 1/6/1979, pp. 710-711. Ian Hall has written a detailed resumé of Wight's work: ''The International Thought of Martin Wight'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

References

1946 non-fiction books International law International relations Political books Books about political power works about the theory of history

Religion

Synopsis

Reputation

See also

References