What Is Thucydides Peloponnesian Dialogue?
Thucydides, The Melian Dialogue, The Peloponnesian War, pp.348-357, First publication 431 BC, originally a Athenian edition
Melian dialogue is part of the fifth book of the works of the eminent Greek historian Thucydides entitled '' Peloponnesian War ''. It is a very important historical source of knowledge on the war between Athens and Sparta, which took place in the years 431-404 BC The aforementioned piece is very valuable because it is the foundation of realism as a theory in international relations and is the subject of numerous studies conducted by specialists in many fields of science, among others: history, political science or literary criticism.
Thucydides in the passage which is Melian Dialogue describes main views on international
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A very important element is the ability to ask the question whether it has a relationship with the contemporary international politics? Are the reasons for actions change? Is modus operandi still the same? The answer is obvious. Despite the very large gap of time between the publication '' Peloponnesian War '' and today human nature was unchanged, people still thinking only about their own interests, the benefits that can be achieved for her/himself, without wondering whether our actions are for other people fair or whether our actions are within the limits of morality. The only difference in warfare is about more sophisticated technical achievements. Nowadays, it is not necessarily to use the army to seize power or land of another state. The actions taken by the Athenians have no longer apply, nobody sells women and children in captivity, nobody kills all the men from conquered lands. The current war is not the same as war more than 2,000 years ago, technological progress went ahead, the main themes of conflicts is oil, where the state turning the fight for control of these areas due to the raw materials there occurring, not on the desire for a larger territory, as it was in the case of Athens. Therefore, it is not always worth the effort to lead the
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