Jean-Jacques Rousseau and international relations

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the problematic character of a specific interpretation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's views concerning international relations by focusing on the 'special' relationship between political theory and international relations theory. To a great extent, Rousseau is supposed to have provided (along others such as MachiavelU, Hobbes and Thucydides) a philosophical pretext for the 'reaüst school' of international relations. By referring both to Rousseau himself and to some alternative interpretations, a profile of a different Rousseau is drawn unlike the realist version. Both the extent of Rousseau's realism and the scientific validity of the realist/idealist opposition are the primary concerns.