In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler believed that his great-power rivals would be easy to exploit and isolate because each had little interest in fighting Germany and instead was determined to get someone else to assume the burden. He guessed right. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The ideal situation for any state is to experience sharp economic growth while its rivals' economies grow slowly or hardly at all. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Since the mid-1990s, Russian leaders have adamantly opposed NATO enlargement, and in recent years, they have made it clear that they would not stand… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The unpleasant truth is that some borders are untenable and preserving them causes conflict, not peace. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Great powers react harshly when distant rivals project military power into their neighborhood, much less attempt to make a country on their border an… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
When the United States worked to contain the Soviet Union during the Cold War, we went to enormous lengths to get as many countries… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The central aim of American foreign policy has traditionally been to dominate the western hemisphere while not permitting another great power to dominate Europe… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Nuclear weapons are the ideal middle-class weapons for Americans. They provide massive amounts of deterrence on the cheap. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Erosion of sovereignty is one more reason a powerful state with a liberal foreign policy ends up fighting never ending wars and fostering militarism… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Simply put, the most powerful state is the one that prevails in a dispute. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
What disappoints me about Obama is that, when he came into office, he gave the impression he was going to reduce America's global commitments,… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
