ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part provides questions about the viability of a world of independent nation states pursuing their respective interests. It argues that liberal principles can provide the basis for peace among liberal states and for extending peaceful relations to presently nonliberal states. The part considers the efficacy of liberal principles in sustaining peace and stresses the dangers of elevating national security to the status of an overriding moral imperative. It reviews Joseph Schumpeter's thesis that democratic capitalism leads to peace and Machiavclli's contention that the passion for liberty leads to republican imperialism. The part also argues that both nuclear war and nuclear deterrence are incompatible with political realism. It aims to develop the themes of the hazards that national security poses to peace in terms of the individual's relation to the state.
