Thucydides on ripeness and conflict resolution

Abstract

Ripeness is the moment when parties to a conflict become willing to accept a settlement. It necessarily has a large subjective or psychological component. Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War may be viewed as a case study in ripeness, or its lack. Thucydides claims the conflict was foreordained to be a "great" war, meaning it could not be resolved before its cataclysmic end. His account of its origins reveals why this was so, and his presentation of select moments during the war constitute explorations of the obstacles to resolution. What Thucydides adds to the current literature on ripeness is a distinctive account of the psychology behind it. © 2004 International Studies Association.