Human Nature and International Politics

Human Nature and International Politics 1
Human Nature and International Politics
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Human Nature and International Politics 2
Introduction
Human nature refers to a set of behavioural characteristics that are observed in most if
not all human beings (Purdy 2015). Politics revolves around the welfare of human beings. In
addition to this, politics is also run by human beings. It follows that human nature is
important in influencing international politics. International political factors are important in
influencing what happens in the world. understanding human nature would help ensure that
international politics are sound. In order to understand the relationship, it would be important
to consider the two main approaches that have been established in an attempt to explain the
human nature. These are classical realism and liberalism. It is imperative to note that most of
the knowledge that we have today concerning human nature has been developed by
philosophers. Classical realism has been developed by Thomas Hobbes. He argued that
human beings have an inherent trait of being tragic (Fitzgerald 2016). Therefore, if human
beings were to live in a state of anarchy, they would fight against one another with the aim of
being stronger than the other. The state on anarch would lead to unending quarrels, wars and
conflicts all over the world. The only way to overcome the conflict is through delegation of
power to the state.
Liberalism on the other hand refers to a more optimistic view. Liberalists believe that
since human beings are rational and have the ability to learn from their mistakes, then they
can create a peaceful society without the need to fight (Knutsen 2016). The key method of
approaching conflicts should be establishing peace and not fighting. It is imperative to note
that this approach was developed by John Locke. The best way to draw a relationship
between the theories and international politics is through considering the ideas of both. Both
explain human nature and relate this nature to international politics. The paper is going to
focus on internal politics and human nature. Human nature is the most important factor in
international politics.

Human Nature and International Politics 3
Human Nature and Realism in International Politics
Assumptions about human nature play a central role in international politics. Most of
the understanding that we have concerning human nature comes from theories that have been
developed by several philosophers (Forsythe 2017). In order to understand the importance
role of human nature in world politics, it would be imperative to look at two of these theories.
These are classical realism and liberalism. In classical realism, human motivation is seen to
be the root cause of conflict which is a common feature of the human nature. It is due to the
conflicting nature that states. It follows that the human nature, as presented in classical
realism is a very important factor in international politics. The assumptions that are made in
classical realism portray human nature to be rather tragic. In fact, tragedy is a key term that is
used when trying to figure out the understanding of human nature that classical realists have.
Due to the tragic view of human nature that classical realists have, they view history as being
cyclist in nature. Historically, there have been series of war between states. Even though
there may be peace for a while, this peace will not last and there will be war at some point in
future. It follows that the understanding of human nature that classical realists have is very
important in influencing international politics. One would tend to think of classical realism as
true considering the series of wars that have occurred and the short-term periods of peace that
were witnessed between the wars. An example would be world wars 1 and 2.
An important philosopher who has helped understand the relationship between human
nature and international politics is Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes wrote an essay on the state of
nature in which he describes the relationship that exists between human nature and world
politics. According to Hobbes, humans are egoistic by nature. They are always driven by
insecurity and fear (O'neill 2017). There are no constraints on human behaviour. Any person

Human Nature and International Politics 4
may use force whenever they wish. Since every person is driven by fear, there is a high
likelihood that individuals will engage in pre-emptive actions aimed at protecting themselves
(Gilpin 2016). In such situations where use of aggression is the best way to ensure survival, it
is more common for people to engage in war rather than engage in peaceful activities. The
observations of Hobbes may explain why there always seems to be aggression in
international politics. Almost every nation of the word wants to be in control of others to
ensure its own interests. This phenomenon is especially common among the super powers.
The super powers use any possible means to ensure that they are in control of everything that
is important for their wellbeing. Therefore, the aggressive nature of humans tends to manifest
itself in international politics.
According to Hobbes, the human nature directs people/ nations to believe that pre-
emptive actions that are varied out in a violent manner are the best way to act in order to
ensure survival (Burley 2017). This nature of human beings directs them to want to be in
control of others. Hobbes further argues that it is because of this state of human nature that
people in a state decide to form a government. Since every person is somehow violent by
nature, the citizens of a country delegate their anarchical tendencies to the government so that
the government can exert power on their behalf (Thompson 2017). If people were left to
exercise this power on their own, then we would have an anarchical society that is not only
unmanageable but very chaotic. It is therefore true to conclude that it is the human nature that
prompts the need for a government. As such human nature is the most important factor in
international politics. If we may follow the suggestions made by Hobbes from a local level to
an international one, we would probably understand the nature of wars and international
conflicts. Since the power of a state is derived from the power delegated to them by citizens,
states have a great urge to acquire more power. These observations may help explain why