Portrait of Hans J. Morgenthau by O. Donnandi.

Portrait of Hans J. Morgenthau by O. Donnandi.

Morgenthau Lecture: The Political Ethics of International Relations

May 22, 1987

Leading international relations theorist Stanley Hoffmann argues that the greatest danger to ethical thinking in international affairs is "disembodied idealism," i.e., attempts to pose ethical solutions to political problems without first coming to grips with states and their interests. Like Hans Morgenthau, he links ethics with political realism.

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