Duties Beyond Borders: On the Limits and Possibilities of Ethical International Politics

by Stanley Hoffmann

Can moral behavior exist in a world of states? Under what conditions? Where if at all, do norms for moral behavior, considerations of right and wrong, fit int the relations between states? Drawing upon many historical examples, Stanley Hoffmann examines the complex questions of whether or not ethical action is possible in international politics and, if it is, what are the obstacles and constraints? Duties Beyond Borders tries to answer these questions and to suggest a course of “ethical politics” based on a pragmatic, realistic approach to international politics.

Genres: International Relations, Politics

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Hoffmann was born in Vienna in 1928, and moved to France with his family the following year. A French citizen since 1947, Hoffmann spent his childhood between Paris and Nice before studying at Sciences Po. He followed an academic career in the United States and founded Harvard's Center for European Studies in 1968.

Hoffmann also participated as a political expert in the film The World According to Bush, dealing with the vicissitudes of the Bush administration after the 2000 presidential election.