To begin with, I explain that Realism as the Foundation of Modern Politics in International  Relations (Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Morgenthau) emphasises the following assumptions:  Politics is governed by objective laws rooted in human nature itself; Politics is a concept of  Interest expressed in the form of power; and The concept of interest does not mean expressed  in the form of power that is fixed and once and for all. Realists argue that with regard to war  and confli

1. Bottle-Green  When you were young you had a bottle-green velvet dress. Like all things, you loved it to shreds. You remember your clothes, you remember—the oversized leather jacket you wore all summer, the red boots you wore year-round to school and everywhere else. It’s hard, trying to remember the rest. Cloudy skies.  Last night you were kept up late trying to remember details about your childhood sweetheart. The one who died last year: September, motorcycle accident. Yo

Frost prints the windowpanes in little cats-feet. A crawl towards October hills, yet rooted in place. Dewdrops drooping flowers; the last cusp of honeysuckle twisted into weaving stalks. A hollow reminder of the dreary-cold— come and gone before noon showers. He stamped regret by the stairwell. Black ink sealing where locks couldn't reach. Ever-stilled, wrapped crescent stitch, statued upon Silicon Valley. An image captured across racing trains— come and gone amongst the crow