Criticism of G. Allison’s Idea about the Inevitability of War in the “History” of Thucydides

Abstract

The article presents a critical analysis of G. Allison’s attracting recent attention idea about the “trap” in Ancient Greek historian Thucydides’ works. The theo­rists of international relations show special interest in theoretical aspects of “The History of Peloponnesian War”. In their opinion Thucydides proposed the idea of structural tension, according to which potential leader’s growth of power inspires fear in actual hegemon, and that results in the inevitability of war between them. Despite the fact that the ancient Greek historian did speak of the fear of the increased power of Athens as the “true reason” for de­claring war on the part of Sparta, his theoretical understanding of the nature of the conflict is fundamentally different from the assumption of G. Allison. The meaning of “History” becomes clearer in more human context, since the decision to start combat activities depends on individuals, their character, intellectual and moral qualities. As the author of the article shows, this ap­proach allows to understand the role and meaning of fear in the Ancient Greek text. Contrary to the ideas of G. Allison fear not only does not lead to the inev­itability of war, but turns out to be subordinate to other human qualities, primarily valor. The author proves that Thucydides spoke about the subjective perception of necessity. The characters of the “History” are constrained by the external environment, including the balance of power, but they retain free will. The beginning or prevention of war depends on the results of polemics in public assemblies, and a true cause is always defined by the temperament of the heroes and citizens of the polis.