The Status And Significance Of Morality In Morgenthau's Realism Theory

As the founder of realism in international relations theory,Morgenthau holds a very important position in the international political theory field.The classical realism represented by Morgenthau declares that the main signpost of political realism is the concept of “interest defined in terms of power”,and it is the sole criterion for the formulation of a foreign policy by a country.However,in addition to "political power," Morgenthau also paid attention to issues such as the relationship between morality and power in international politics and the role of morality in international politics.If one ignores the important role played by morality in realism,it will easily fall into the trap of misunderstanding realism in "vulgarization" way.In order to have a more comprehensive and objective understanding of Morgenthau's realism theory and at the same time dispel misunderstandings of the “demonization” of realism,this article attempts to collect,collate,and read Morgenthau's first-hand data such as his writings,dissertations and so on to form a systemic and complete understanding of moral issues concerning morality through textual research methods.Taking the relationship between human rights and foreign policy as the starting point,this article wants to discuss the position and role of morality in Morgenthau's realism theory,further explored Morgenthau's understanding of the relationship between power and morality.Besides,discovering the philosophical foundation and logical chain behind Morgenthau's thoughts is also this article's vital task.Through the current research,this paper generally draws the following conclusions:First,power is the core concept of international politics.The "interest defined by power" is the sole criterion for a country to formulate a foreign policy.Human rights principles and morality cannot be taken as the basis for formulating foreign policy;Second,all human behaviors naturally have evil properties.Power,the goal of using others as a means,cannot escape from the origin of evil.Therefore,the power struggle between nations must have a destructive impact on the international community;Third,realism is not "weak moralism." When power balance cannot restrain power struggle,morality becomes the most important factor to restrict power;Fourth,when national interests collide with morality,if a country seeks the interests which are transcending over state power,its behavior must be not in conformity with political morality;Fifth,although morality can form a constraint on power,we cannot overestimate the role of morality in real politics.Morality cannot be used as a basis for formulating a foreign policy,and a country cannot take the special ethics as a universal principle which seems to gain universal benefits to impose on other countries and even the entire international community in a nationalistic crusades attitude.