The City Among Cities

An original interpretation of Aristotle's political thought focusing on war and peace.

With the post–Cold War international order under stress, Stephen P. Sims reconsiders the relationship between war, peace, and politics by returning to the thought of Aristotle. The City Among Cities offers new ways of thinking about Aristotle, connecting his themes of inequality—such as slavery or aristocracy—to his observations on war and hegemonic politics. By contrasting Aristotle's approach with the foundational theories of international relations, Sims argues that hierarchy and coercion are permanent features of political life that democratic nations ignore at their own peril.