International Relations Theory: The Long Cycle Theory In Modern History

In modern history, our world system has been controlled by states, actors, and organizations which theoretically exist in an anarchical system. Today we use fundamental international relations theories such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism to help us explain the international system. Realism, which in many was popularized by Thucydides in his The Melian Dialogue argues that states are the most important actors in the international system [1]. Realism also explains that states relentlessly seek to maximize their power (usually in the form of the military) to guarantee their security (since states exist in an anarchical self-help system). By using the theory of realism and the timeline produced for this final assessment one can draw conclusions about long cycle theory as it related to ancient Greek history. Fundamentally, ancient Greek history is a story told by the rise and fall of city-states and the interactions between them. The long cycle theory of international relations theory argues that hegemons will rise and fall in a periodic fashion over the course of time. This rather simple theory has been able to predict the rise and fall of modern hegemons such as Spain, Britain, and the United States. However, once we apply this theory to ancient Greek history we can see the rise and fall of several

This military victory for the Macedonians secured Macedon as the hegemon who would reign from 338-146 BCE (in various forms). It is also arguable during this time (which includes the Hellenistic period) that Macedonian rule effectively ends ancient Greek history. This argument perhaps holds because of the sheer size of Macedon’s empire which diluted “Greek” culture, language, and religion. Macedonian hegemony was effectively snuffed out through the expansion of the Roman republic in 146 BCE