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Thucydides was a skeptic and adopted a relativist approach to justice and morality, in his work and it appears that he was apparently greatly influenced by the philosophers known as the Sophists. His philosophical position is that human beings are motivated by power and their needs. In 431 BC, [[What were the causes of the Peloponnesian War ?|the Peloponnesian War]] broke out between Sparta and Athens. The Peloponnesian War was a brutal conflict for dominance of the Greek world (431-404 BC). In 421 BC, Thucydides was elected a strategos or general by the Athenian popular Assembly. This appointment suggests that he was already an experienced military commander and was a well-known public figure. It is clear based on the reading of his later work that he was an admirer of the Athenian politician Pericles and was possibly associated with the popular party in the city.

Many historians argue that Thucydides was not an objective historian. They point to the speeches that are included in the work known as Pericles’ ‘Funeral Oration’ Oration.’ <ref>Thucydides, 2, 35-45</ref>. Historians have explained why these speeches could not be accurate records of the actual words of the orators. These speeches make his work look more like literature than history.

Among the key themes of the History of the Peloponnesian War are Empire, war, and power. Thucydides had a bleak view of human nature and this influenced his view of international relations. For him, the strong will always prey on the weaker weak and seek to dominate them. This is illustrated in the destruction of Melos by Athens in the History of the Peloponnesian War.  In his famous Melian dialogue, the former general sets out a view of international relations as one which is anarchic and which is not governed by any sense of justice .<ref>Thucydides, 5, 84-116</ref>. Thucydides is widely seen as the father of the realist school of international affairs. This privileged military power, national interests and the state. It holds He argued that religion and morality have no place in politics and that relations between states. Instead, is characterized as everyone was always trying to further one’s their own interests at the expense of others, as . This view was shaped by the case among Peloponnesian War because the city-states during did this throughout the Peloponnesian Warconflict. Thucydides was pessimistic about human nature and did not believe that societies could change. Any society that was not prepared for war and to further their own interests will not survive or prosper. This  His views influenced among others writers and thinkers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes , and Rousseau. It later developed in In the 19th century , it developed into the school of thought that promoted the idea that states should be powerful and seek to dominate others in their own interests. It has been enormously influential in politics and diplomacy and remains so to this day .<ref>Forde, Steven. "International realism and the science of politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and neorealism." International Studies Quarterly 39, no. 2 (1995): 141-160</ref>.

He was the first to really propose a theory of war, which he believed was a result of the interaction of human nature, national interests, and chance events. The former general’s thesis in the History of the Peloponnesian War is that the war between Sparta and Athens was inevitable. The disgraced general believed that when a rising power such as Athens comes into contact with an established power such as Sparta that conflict is inevitable. In the words of Thucydides ‘It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable’ inevitable.’<ref> Thucydides, I, 22</ref>. It is  He believed that it was inevitable that the a rising power will would seek to displace the existing power and this is because humans want to dominate the weaker. This has become known been referred to as the Thucydides trapTrap, which roughly is the proposition that when a new power emerges that it is inevitable that there is going to be a war. It should be noted that it was not Thucydides who named this concept, but it was rather named after him, by academics in the twentieth century. This concept based on Thucydides' thesis on the origins of the Peloponnesian War has been enormously influential among politicians and diplomats.

Thucydides has been enormously influential in histography. His objectivity, rationalism and systematic collection of data had led him to be called the Father of History. However, he was also a great writer and his work is also regarded as a literary masterpiece, which many read as they would a novel, to understand the human condition. The Athenians were one of the first to study international relations and he was the founder of the ‘realist school’ which has been very important in understanding diplomacy and politics to this day. He was also one of the founders of political science because of his analysis of the Peloponnesian War and his thesis on the causes of war and conflict, the ‘Thucydides trap’ is still relevant in the 21st century.