Hans Morgenthau on realist normative theory, Cold War structure and some implications on Inter‐Korean relations

Abstract

In this article, I review Hans Morgenthau's thoughts about the nature of social and political knowledge. The purpose of this article is to contrast the false philosophy and the true philosophy of politics as conceived by him. An analysis of his critic of rationalism, universalism, and scientism, and his efforts to build an intuitionist conception of international politics are included. Unlike the later positivist‐minded realists, Morgenthau emphasized the radically different epistemological view. I also discuss Morgenthau's analysis of an important empirical case of his time, the Cold War. The examination of Morgenthau's analysis of this case reveals how he approached the real issues based on epistemological skepticism and how he searched for meaningful prescriptions based on that. I then discuss some normative implications of these thoughts on inter‐Korean politics.