The Thucydidean Turn: (Re)Interpreting Thucydides’ Political Thought Before, During and After the Great War (Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception)

The emergence of Thucydides as an influential political thinker in the first half of the 20th century has been astonishingly neglected by modern scholars. This volume examines how, why, and when the Athenian historical came to occupy such a prominent position in political discourse in the US and Europe today. It argues that in the years before, during, and after the Great War Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War was mined for the insights that it could offer into contemporary politics, and that it was also used as part of the justification for the academic and cultural relevance of Classics at this time of great political upheaval. Academic classicists and classically trained commentators were instrumental in this 'turn' in academic focus onto Thucydides' contemporary relevance. Among the former were several prominent figures, such as Francis Cornford, Gilbert Murray, and Enoch Powell, who attempted to find in Thucydides a dark depiction of human nature and the passions that drove politics to justify his contemporary relevance. The latter included International Relations scholars and journalists such as Alfred Zimmern, Albert Toynbee, and George Abbott, who 'turned' to Thucydides in order to better understand contemporary global and European politics. A final chapter demonstrates how this British 'turn' to Thucydides was received and reinterpreted in America on the eve of the Second World War. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgements 15 1 Introduction: Defining the Thucydidean Turn 18 A short history of labelling Thucydides 23 The proliferation of labels 28 Thucydides today 31 The value of the Thucydidean turn today: Psychology, realism and time 34 The structure of this book 35 2 Thucydides: Between Science and Tragedy 40 Thucydides from rational to tragic 44 From Historicus to Mythistoricus 51 The politics and ethics of Mythistoria 57 Conclusion: Reception and influence 64 3 Thucydides, Realism and Political Psychology 70 Before the Great War 72 Thucydides the imperialist 78 Greek political thought and modernity 80 Thucydides and political psychology 86 Thucydides: Man and scholar 92 Conclusion: A new Thucydidean paradigm? 95 4 Thucydides, Realism and the Great War 98 Abbott, Thucydides and the Great War 102 Thucydides and historical realism 108 Thucydides and political realism 114 Self-interest in Thucydides 118 Fear in international relations 120 Conclusion 124 5 Thucydides, Historical Change and Contemporaneity 126 Thucydides and the cycle of civilizations 130 Toynbee on Cornford and the ‘impersonal forces’ of history 139 The contemporaneity of Thucydides 142 Conclusion: A Thucydidean turn? 147 6 Learning to Tolerate Thucydides 148 The moral and political principles of Thucydides 152 Thucydides the Realpolitiker 158 The speeches as political thought 162 Political psychology and historical change 166 Thucydides the imperialist 169 Conclusion: The morality of the city and man 171 7 Epilogue: American Thucydides(s) 176 Wars ancient and modern: Thucydides in America 178 Thucydidean turn(s) 184 The value of the (British) Thucydidean turn 188 Notes 192 Bibliography 214 Index 238 "The emergence of Thucydides as an influential political thinker in the first half of the twentieth century has been astonishingly neglected by modern scholars. This volume examines how, why, and when the Athenian historical came to occupy such a prominent position in political discourse in the US and Europe today. It argues that in the years before, during, and after the Great War Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War was mined for the insights that it could offer into contemporary politics, and that it was also used as part of the justification for the academic and cultural relevance of Classics at this time of great political upheaval. Academic classicists and classically trained commentators were instrumental in this 'turn' in academic focus onto Thucydides' contemporary relevance. Among the former were several prominent figures, such as Francis Cornford, Gilbert Murray, and Enoch Powell, who attempted to find in Thucydides a dark depiction of human nature and the passions that drove politics to justify his contemporary relevance. The latter included International Relations scholars and journalists such as Alfred Zimmern, Albert Toynbee, and George Abbott, who 'turned' to Thucydides in order to better understand contemporary global and European politics. A final chapter demonstrates how this British 'turn' to Thucydides was received and reinterpreted in America on the eve of the Second World War."-- Provided by publisher