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Conference paper
Reinhold Niebuhr and prescriptions for international leadership
University of West Florida Libraries
Christians in Political Science Conference (Memphis, Tennessee, 06/03/2010–06/05/2010)
06/2010
Abstract
Reinhold Niebuhr‟s prescriptions for international leadership chart a middle way between realist and liberal extremes. Specifically, while empirical research in international relations
offers useful explanations for how and why certain states come to dominate or “lead” the international system, normative prescriptions about how leading states should behave tend to
focus on either realist-style prudence or integrationist liberalism. What is missing for a status quo state like the US is a set of normative guidelines that a) move beyond the reductionism of pure national self-interest but b) decline to overturn national sovereignty and the international system. Along these lines, Niebuhr rejected pure realism for its political nihilism; however, as a Christian realist, Niebuhr maintained that relations between groups should be based on politics, not ideals. Therefore, this paper assembles Niebuhr‟s vision of international leadership and its prescriptions and finds Niebuhr‟s vision a helpful antidote to the conventional realist/liberal divide.
Details
- Title
- Reinhold Niebuhr and prescriptions for international leadership
- Resource Type
- Conference paper
- Conference
- Christians in Political Science Conference (Memphis, Tennessee, 06/03/2010–06/05/2010)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 22
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380090332806600
- Academic Unit
- Reubin O'D. Askew Department of Government ; College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities
- Language
- English