Nowhere are clashes between competing ethical perspectives more prevalent than in the realm of International Relations. Thus, understanding tragedy is directly relevant to understanding IR. This volume explores the various ways that tragedy can be used as a lens through which international relations might be brought into clearer focus.

TONI ERSKINE holds a Personal Chair in International Politics at Aberystwyth University, UK, and is currently Honorary Professor of Global Ethics at RMIT University in Melbourne and Visiting Scholar at Sydney University, Australia. RICHARD NED LEBOW James O. Freedman Presidential Professor of Government (Emeritus) at Dartmouth College, USA, and Centennial Professor of International Relations at The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

Introduction: Understanding Tragedy and Understanding International Relations; T.Erskine & R.N.Lebow PART I: RECOVERING THE TRAGIC DIMENSION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Tragedy, Ethics and International Relations; M.Frost Tragedy, Progress and the International Order; J.Mayall Tragedy or Skepticism? Defending the Anti-Pelagian Mind in World Politics; N.Rengger Tragedy, Politics and Political Science; R.N.Lebow PART II: TRAGEDY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AS POLITICAL THEORY Tragic Choices and Contemporary International Political Theory; C.Brown The Tragedy of Tragedy; P.Euben Tragedy and Ethical Community in World Politics; R.Beardsworth Tragedy and Political Theory: Progressivism without an Ideal; K.Stullerova PART III: ON THE NATURE OF TRAGEDY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS A Pessimism of Strength? Tragedy and Political Virtue; B.A.Schupmann Nietzsche and Questions of Tragedy, Tyranny and International Relations; T.Strong Tragedies and International Relations; C.Lu The Drama Viewed from Elsewhere; R.Shilliam Conclusion: Learning from Tragedy and Refocusing International Relations; T.Erskine & R.N.Lebow