Foreign policy thought of Milovan Milovanović: Does it reach the bar of foreign policy theory?

Abstract

Osnovno pitanje koje se postavlja u ovom radu je da li razmatranja spoljne politike Milovana Milovanovića, plodnog autora i vrlog diplomate i političara s kraja XIX i početka XX veka, dostižu rang teorije? Teza koju će ovaj rad pokušati da dokaže jeste da je reč o svojevrsnoj predteoriji spoljne politike. Nakon izdvajanja ključnih naučnih hipoteza o spoljnopolitičkom ponašanju država u međunarodnim odnosima koje Milovanović iznosi u svojim radovima, istražićemo da li je moguće označiti ova razmatranja kao teoriju primenom dva testa: 1) minimalnog; 2) optimalnog. Potom ćemo locirati Milovanovićevu predteoriju spoljne politike u širu realpolitičku misao i pokušati da utvrdimo stepen njene relevantnosti za savremene pristupe u spoljnopolitičkoj teoriji.The main research question posed in this article is could foreign policy considerations of Milovan Milovanović (Serbian politician, diplomat and a fruitful author from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century) be regarded as a theory of foreign policy? Our thesis is that these considerations are a pre-theory of foreign policy. After a description of the key Milovanović’s hypotheses about the foreign policy behavior of states in international relations, we will test could they be regarded as a comprehensive theory using two tools: 1) the minimal test; 2) the optimal test. Finally, we would try to locate Milovanović’s pre-theory inside broader realpolitik thought, as well as to analyze its relevance for contemporary foreign policy theoretical approaches