- 18 May 2008 22:12
#1533398
I'll soon be finished but I fear that it is transforming into a revisionist account of Sparta that places most of the blame on Corinth and Athens.
There are still some problems with regards to the categorization of some causes but I'll probably be finished by Tuesday and even talk to the instructor about it before the deadline on the 28th.
I am still unsure about what to say for the "prevention" part. The course is about the prevention of war so I am expected to write something on how it could have been prevented. I considered the "feeling of inevitability" (which seems to be discredited by most modern authors) and "the cult of the offensive" and how these should been ignored. Perhaps I should talk about misinformation and perception leading to leaders taking bad decisions in times of crisis. Someone suggested that I could talk about a cliché "they were prone to war... did not know better... did not seek arbitration... etc" but that is simply not true.
There are still some problems with regards to the categorization of some causes but I'll probably be finished by Tuesday and even talk to the instructor about it before the deadline on the 28th.
I am still unsure about what to say for the "prevention" part. The course is about the prevention of war so I am expected to write something on how it could have been prevented. I considered the "feeling of inevitability" (which seems to be discredited by most modern authors) and "the cult of the offensive" and how these should been ignored. Perhaps I should talk about misinformation and perception leading to leaders taking bad decisions in times of crisis. Someone suggested that I could talk about a cliché "they were prone to war... did not know better... did not seek arbitration... etc" but that is simply not true.
"It is a dangerous thing to be a Machiavelli. It is a disastrous thing to be a Machiavelli without virtū."
- Hans J. Morgenthau
- Hans J. Morgenthau