I have been thinking a lot about Mearsheimer’s formulation of offensive realism.[1] I have come to the conclusion that there is a slight of hand involved. Not that I think that the theory isn’t a radical improvement over neorealism. Indeed, my position is considerably closer to Mearsheimer’s than Waltz’. The slight of hand is that Mearsheimer has split the atom of power in two distinct ways only one of which he barely acknowledges and the other he completely ignores. In neorealism, the explanatory variable is the system structure: the distribution of power among states. That is, the distribution of aggregate war-making capabilities. Industrial capability, geopolitical position, economic strength, population size, natural resource endowment, and so on and so forth, are all lumped together into a uni-dimensional quantity called power.
Offensive Realism
Offensive Realism
Offensive Realism
I have been thinking a lot about Mearsheimer’s formulation of offensive realism.[1] I have come to the conclusion that there is a slight of hand involved. Not that I think that the theory isn’t a radical improvement over neorealism. Indeed, my position is considerably closer to Mearsheimer’s than Waltz’. The slight of hand is that Mearsheimer has split the atom of power in two distinct ways only one of which he barely acknowledges and the other he completely ignores. In neorealism, the explanatory variable is the system structure: the distribution of power among states. That is, the distribution of aggregate war-making capabilities. Industrial capability, geopolitical position, economic strength, population size, natural resource endowment, and so on and so forth, are all lumped together into a uni-dimensional quantity called power.