O dilema das relações internacionais sob a ascensão de Roma no Mediterrâneo, 350-200 a.C.

Abstract

The rise of Roman hegemony provides an interesting case-study on the transition from international anarchy to hierarchy. Italian polities were the first to experience the effects of Roman hegemonic power in the late fourth and third centuries BC. This paper investigates to what extent the rise of Roman hegemony altered the behaviour of Italian states on the international level, and how these states reacted to the profound changes in the international system brought about by Rome’s unprecedented rise. To address these questions, I discuss the ancient historiographical accounts of Polybius (200-120 BC) and Livy (59 BC - AD 17), which constitute the most complete extant accounts of Rome’s early expansion. I argue that although Italian states were subject to Roman supremacy by the early third century BC, they continued to behave as if they were independent and autonomous units in the international arena.