Contrary to the conventional wisdom in the West, Moscow did not invade Ukraine to conquer it and make it part of a Greater Russia. It was principally concerned with preventing Ukraine from becoming a Western bulwark on the Russian border. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Putin was very clear, as were all his lieutenants, that their great fear was that Ukraine was becoming a Western bulwark on Russia's borders. For them, that was an existential threat. It was simply unacceptable. — 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
