In what way is the historical and political context of Thucydides and Essay

In what way is the historical and political context of Thucydides and Machiavelli relevant for an interpretation of their writings - Essay Example Contemporary foreign policies and the disregard for law were the reflections of the Thucydides and Machiavelli’s political powers and their emphasis on the US foreign policies. They wanted to carve a niche for themselves in the American history and they achieved this by exhibiting it in their writings. Their writings were closer to reality and this paved the way for their success. Realism is not a new concept and this was adopted by the authors who emphasize on the historic incidents and happenings. This was held by Thucydides and Machiavelli which helped them in proving themselves a realist author. Thucydides and Machiavelli were considered to be the most popular historians and the reason was the way in which they treated law and political aspects of the government. Each and every part of their writings focused on the disregard for law and ethics that was followed in a country. This created a wave of fear among the residents of almost all the countries and the neighboring countries also felt the impact of the problem. Though they lived several decades before the independence of most of the nations, they are still popular due to their contribution to the history of their respective nations. Their political life also influenced other countries apart from their native countries. Their influence is still felt in most of the nations were their principles and political ideologies are being followed. Thucydides and Machiavelli are considered to be the fathers of political realism as they showed the political system of a country in a different dimension. The way they balanced a country’s government and political system and exertion of power made them the most sought after leaders of the country. They turned in to realist authors only after proving their mettle in the political system. (Thucydides, 1985). Their writings purely reflected their political experience and the way in which they dealt with the political problems and