Neoconservative Realism

The neoconservatives have never been champions of liberal internationalism. Instead, they are realists who are influenced by ThucydidesThucydides as understood by Donald KaganKagan, Donald and Leo Strauss. Kagan admires the unabashed imperial spirit of the AtheniansAthenians in the fifth century as the legacy of the West to which America is heir. This chapter focuses on Kagan’s endorsement of the most hawkish figures in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. In response to Kagan, I defend a moderate realism inspired by Thucydides and the pagan sensibilities of the tragic poetsTragic poets of his time. I show how the pagan realism of Thucydides is connected to moral considerations such as hubrisHubris, honorHonor, and shameShame.