John J. Mearsheimer

A groundbreaking examination of a central question in international relations: Do states act rationally? To understand world politics, you need to understand how states think. Are states rational? Much of international relations theory assumes that they are. However, many scholars believe that political leaders rarely act rationally. The issue is crucial for both the study and practice of international politics,...

A renowned scholar argues that liberal hegemony—the policy America has pursued since the Cold War ended—is doomed to fail Named a Financial Times Best Book of 2018 “Idealists as well as realists need to read this systematic tour de force.”—Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Return of Marco Polo’s World It is widely believed in the West that the United...

The updated edition of this classic treatise on the behaviour of great powers takes a penetrating look at the question likely to dominate international relations in the twenty-first century: Can China rise peacefully? In clear, eloquent prose, John Mearsheimer explains why the answer is no: a rising China will seek to dominate Asia, while the United States, determined to remain...