For his seminal work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, the ancient Greek writer Thucydides is heralded as the father of scientific history. Unlike earlier historians, who based their accounts on legends, hearsay, and divine intervention, Thucydides’ historiographical approach was modeled on impartiality, evidence, and analysis. Moreover, Thucydides remains relevant today in the fields of International Relations and political philosophy. His analysis of the Peloponnesian War raises questions about the nature of international politics that remain important today. One episode, the Melian Dialogue, poses the question: does might make right?   Context of the Melian Dialogue: The Peloponnesian War Pericles Gives the Funeral Speech, Philipp von Foltz, 1852. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Peloponnesian War was a conflict that engulfed the Greek world between 431 and 403 BCE. The war was fought between the two most powerful Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta and their allies who belonged to the Delian League, led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League,  led by Sparta.   The war was characterized by long periods of stalemate, largely owing to …