A fresh book on Thucydides by SEI board member, Jay M. Parker and Andrew R. Novo.
Few books have had a wider sustained impact than Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. More than 2,500 years after it was written, Thucydides is still read by academics, students, and policymakers looking for enduring lessons into everything from grand strategy to domestic politics and human nature. Yet, like many great books, this work by Thucydides is more often quoted than read. Even when read, Thucydides is read incompletely. Too often, his work is approached through the lens of synthesis and oversimplification.
Readers are presented with a quote here and a generalized lesson there in a manner that disregards both the wider context of the book itself and the broader context of the period in which Thucydides lived.
“Restoring Thucydidesis an outstanding book that makes Thucydides accessible and resoundingly refutes the popularized notion of a ‘Thucydides trap.’ Novo and Parker’s rich rendition gives context forThe History, rescuing it from pinched readings and giving us access to even more valuable lessons about great power competition that entails ‘fluid alliances, diplomatic realignments, and conflict proceeding in fits and starts as rival domestic parties grappled for power.’” —Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
While many studies have attempted to derive lessons from Thucydides or apply lessons to international politics today, few works have tested the validity of those lessons or unpacked the deeper context of Thucydides’ work and his time. Like many great books, Thucydides is often read in the search for predetermined lessons derived from preselected excerpts. These lessons come to us as little more than bromides, as immutable as they are oversimplified. Both academics and policymakers use phrases like “Thucydides’ Trap” without accurately referring back to the text and its context. The clichés generated by current approaches do not help us understand the particular causes, conduct, and conclusion of the conflict between Athens and Sparta any more than they provide insights into the challenges of our own time.
“In this book, two scholars coming from different academic disciplines have clearly leveraged their relative expertise to produce an incredibly learned treatise on the ways in which Thucydides’ text is typically (mis)treated by scholars and non-scholars alike. The originality of the arguments advanced provides even scholars who have studied Thucydides for years much fresh insight on virtually every page.” —Scott A. Silverstone, Professor of International Relations and Deputy Head, Department of Social Sciences, United States Military Academy
This book examines the use and misuse of historic evidence. It addresses the persistence of historic fact that has been surpassed by legend as well as the absence of consistent, diligent interdisciplinary scholarship. The authors Andrew R. Novo and Jay M. Parker demonstrate how rigor cannot be credible without some degree of richness. Standard conclusions are challenged based on the evidence within his work and the broader historical record. New lessons with modern relevance are drawn from a richer, fuller understanding of Thucydides.
“This well-written book will add to the knowledge and understanding of Thucydides whom many consider to be the ‘founding father’ of the discipline of international relations. The authors’ deep understanding of Thucydides, along with their use of different translations as well as primary and secondary sources, make this an excellent scholarly book. It is a succinct, readable reinterpretation of a classic international relations text. In addition to being a useful summary of the value of Thucydides for contemporary readers, it is also a much-needed corrective to a simplistic interpretation of Thucydides.” —Dan Caldwell, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Pepperdine University
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