TY - JOUR
T1 - Virtue unrestrained
T2 - Herbert Butterfield and the problem of American power
AU - Sharp, Paul
PY - 2004/8
Y1 - 2004/8
N2 - In the late 1950s, the British historian Sir Herbert Butterfield observed that we should not welcome the prospect of even a virtuous hegemon but should seek, rather, a balance of power. He did so because his understanding of history suggested that aspirant hegemons succeed principally in precipitating costly wars against them, while his sense of Christian ethics suggested that even a successful virtuous hegemon would become self-righteous and, by imposing its values on others, would curtail the scope of human freedom. I argue that current United States (U.S.) policy and the world's response to it to date confirm Butterfield's position, but that this presents a new set of practical and moral questions centered on the problem of advocating a balance against a country that one regards as broadly virtuous, and certainly more virtuous than many of the other powers in the world, but that no longer wants to pursue its interests through the post-Cold War concert of putative great powers. The best answer to these problems, I conclude, lies not in a crude balance, but the re-institutionalization of the idea of the balance of power. This requires advocating restraint and self-restraint, the first practical manifestation of which being that the U.S. should not attack either of the surviving members of the "Axis of Evil."
AB - In the late 1950s, the British historian Sir Herbert Butterfield observed that we should not welcome the prospect of even a virtuous hegemon but should seek, rather, a balance of power. He did so because his understanding of history suggested that aspirant hegemons succeed principally in precipitating costly wars against them, while his sense of Christian ethics suggested that even a successful virtuous hegemon would become self-righteous and, by imposing its values on others, would curtail the scope of human freedom. I argue that current United States (U.S.) policy and the world's response to it to date confirm Butterfield's position, but that this presents a new set of practical and moral questions centered on the problem of advocating a balance against a country that one regards as broadly virtuous, and certainly more virtuous than many of the other powers in the world, but that no longer wants to pursue its interests through the post-Cold War concert of putative great powers. The best answer to these problems, I conclude, lies not in a crude balance, but the re-institutionalization of the idea of the balance of power. This requires advocating restraint and self-restraint, the first practical manifestation of which being that the U.S. should not attack either of the surviving members of the "Axis of Evil."
KW - Hegemony
KW - Herbert Butterfield
KW - U.S. foreign policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=4043123171&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=4043123171&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1528-3577.2004.00175.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1528-3577.2004.00175.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:4043123171
SN - 1528-3577
VL - 5
SP - 300
EP - 315
JO - International Studies Perspectives
JF - International Studies Perspectives
IS - 3
ER -