Thucydides and the Politics of Truth
Journal: In Gremium Studies in History Culture and Politics
Year: 2021

Populism, fake news, international rivalries and plague: contemporary events seem to many commentators to echo those described by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. There is a long tradition of seeing Thucydides as an authority on the present and future as well as the past. This is understood in different ways: historians emphasise the importance of historical knowledge, social scientists see him as a pioneer in normative political theory. His work invites such comparisons, and promises to