John H. Herz and the Resurrection of Classical Realism
| DOI | 10.1177/0047117808097310 |
| Published date | 01 December 2008 |
| Author | Casper Sylvest |
| Date | 01 December 2008 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
HERZ AND THE RESURRECTION OF CLASSICAL REALISM 441
John H. Herz and the Resurrection of Classical Realism
Casper Sylvest1
Abstract
This article argues that the political theory of John H. Herz – best known in International
Relations (IR) for the invention of the concept of the security dilemma – reveals a
sophisticated body of thought deeply relevant to the ongoing attempt to resurrect classical
realism. Like other forms of classical realism, the Herzian variant was strategic and rhetorical
in character. Beneath its realist posture we fi nd a liberal ideology focused on achieving
order, progress and justice in international politics. Although this positive project began
from a pessimistic rendering of the political, Herz’s political theory was never fatalistic. In
combining liberal ideals with a realist understanding of politics, Herz continuously stressed
how international politics could be mitigated and changed. This vision was, in turn, based
on a broadly constructivist rendering of the security dilemma. Through an identifi cation and
analysis of these three central characteristics of Herz’s realism (its strategic character, its
liberal internationalist purpose, and its underlying constructivism), the article stresses the
coherence and continuity of Herz’s political thought, and provides a nuanced and complex
understanding of an innovative and overlooked scholar of international relations, as well as
a normatively compelling position from which to re-articulate classical realism today.
Keywords: classical realism, constructivism, John H. Herz, internationalism, liberalism,
security dilemma
A basically liberal philosophy may be founded on the insights supplied by Realism, at
the same time that it is guided ethically by the standards of Idealism, namely concern
for the individual and the free development of human personality, and insistence on
the universality of these standards.2
Introduction
Having developed the powerful concept of the security dilemma, the name of John
Hermann Herz (1908–2005) is familiar to most students of international relations (IR),
who instinctively place him alongside classical realist scholars of the mid-twentieth
century.3 Yet Herz’s realism and his wider political theory have only recently begun to
receive sustained attention.4 A number of factors can explain the neglect and awkward
legacy of Herz. Kenneth W. Thompson once argued that had he avoided straying into
other areas of political science, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to IR, Herz would
have been a ‘proportionately greater’ fi gure, a comment that bears the unmistakable mark
of a period when professors of IR fought hard to achieve a disciplinary identity, often
(but not always) at the expense of interdisciplinary insight. Thompson also suggested
that Herz’s modus operandi as a lonely scholar, and his ability or tendency to adjust his
thought to new realities (a potential strength one would think), left him on the threshold
International Relations Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC, Vol 22(4): 441–455
[DOI: 10.1177/0047117808097310]
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