1
Introduction
In the context of international relations (IR) studies, the connection between IR
theory and modern political philosophy is both well established and under-appreciated.
The “well established” half of the connection derives from the liberal, and at times
explicit use by IR theorists of key concepts found in modern, and particularly early
modern political philosophy. In this vein, Hans Morgenthau, in his foundational IR text,
Politics Among Nations, is explicit in placing his argument within the larger
philosophical debate between classical realists and enlightenment idealists. Similarly,
certain work by Kenneth Waltz, such as his first book, Man, the State and War, delves
directly into the writings of modern political philosophers. The democratic peace
literature has likewise pulled quite proudly from the works of Kant, while social
constructivists have been perhaps the most forward of all in attempting to draw larger
theoretical concepts into the narrow theoretical discourse that characterizes much of IR
scholarship.
Despite these theoretical forays, however, a notable absence of appreciation of the
significance of political philosophy, for IR theory, continues to pervade the discipline.
This is manifested in at least two ways. The first is by the lack of explicit references to
works of political philosophy from which key ideas are taken. For instance, while
Waltz’s first book is direct in its references to Rousseau and other early modern
philosophers, his most important work, Theory of International Politics, is more
Convention