An institute for responsible judgment.

The Realist Institute is a developing independent project devoted to the study of political life and the responsibilities that accompany the exercise of power.

Its intellectual starting point is classical realism: a tradition attentive to history, competing interests, human limits, and the consequences of political decisions. That starting point leads into broader questions of knowledge, institutional organization, Chinese political life, and ethics.

Scholarship with a public purpose

The Institute brings these concerns into documentaries, essays, resources, and educational programs. Each form serves a different purpose. Films introduce an intellectual world; essays develop and test arguments; reading guides support independent study; a proposed summer program would bring students into sustained conversation.

An institution in formation

James O. Reineke is developing the Institute and its first documentary on Hans Morgenthau. The five centers describe its emerging fields of inquiry. Research programs, contributors, and educational arrangements will be presented as they are established.