Thucydiocies: How Not to Read Thucydides in Contemporary Political Discourse

Abstract The ancient Greek author Thucydides is widely cited in discussions of international affairs and contemporary politics, such as the Russian-Ukraine War and relationships between the United States and China. However, he is often presented in such debates as a purveyor of universal theories or inspirational slogans. His reputation as an authoritative thinker, founded in the complexity and originality of his account of the past, is used to legitimise simplistic claims about the present. This article surveys three common examples of such readings—the Melian Dialogue and its relation to Realism, the Thucydides Trap, and the plague at Athens—to consider how they may offer a misleading idea of Thucydides’ work and what it could actually tell us about politics today.