Beyond the Shadow of War
Reassessing Hobbes's Thought on International Politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3971234 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gaoxiang Li (0009-0006-8760-9485, Tongji University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The European Legacy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1084-8770 • E-ISSN: 1470-1316 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10848770.2025.2545047 |
| OpenAlex | W4413408914 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
This article challenges the conventional realist appropriation of Thomas Hobbes in international relations theory, particularly the tendency to equate the Hobbesian state of nature with international anarchy. Through close textual analysis, it identifies three core misreadings: the reduction of Hobbesian anthropology to a doctrine of human depravity, the denial of objective moral norms in the state of nature, and the claim that natural law lacks political efficacy without a central sovereign authority. While many scholars distinguish between individuals and states, this article foregrounds the internal distinction between natural persons and sovereign rulers. It argues that sovereign conduct is shaped not only by reason but also by a distinctive concern for honor and the dread of dishonor. Hobbes reconfigures honor as a normative constraint: the sovereign ruler’s desire to preserve his reputation, symbolic authority, and political legacy may inhibit his aggressive ambitions. Emphasizing the emotional dimension of sovereignty, this article offers a revised interpretation of Hobbes that moves beyond rationalist interpretations and reopens the question of what constrains sovereign action in the absence of external authority
Economic history · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought · War, Ethics, and Justification
The logic of Leviathan
Appropriating Hobbes
Hobbes and the Artifice of Eternity
Natural Right and History
Política entre las naciones
Why Is There No International Theory?
Behemoth or The Long Parliament
Foundations of Modern International Thought
Philosophy and Government 1572–1651
Realism and International Relations
Social Theory of International Politics
Nature and Artifice in Hobbes’s International Political Thought
The Anarchical Society
The invention of Hobbesian anarchy
Overcoming ‘Gnosticism’? Realism as political theology
Thomas Hobbes and the natural law tradition
American Foreign Policy
Political theory and international relations
Are Hobbesian States as Passionate as Hobbesian Individuals
The Use & Abuse of Hobbes
Hobbes and international relations
The State of War. Essays on the Theory and Practice of International Politics
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |