The more closely any ism accords with human nature, the more relevance it will have in the real world. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
In an ideal world, where there are only good states, power would be largely irrelevant. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
I believe it is no accident that the world is populated with nation-states. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
In the anarchic world of international politics, it is better to be Godzilla than Bambi. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
When World War II started on September 1, 1939, the German army contained 3.74 million soldiers and 103 divisions. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Because there is no world government to protect states from one another, major powers are acutely sensitive to threats - especially near… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The liberal tradition has its roots in the Enlightenment, that period in the eighteenth-century Europe when intellectuals and political leaders had a… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
If history is any guide, most Afghans would oppose an American invasion and fight the foreign occupiers, probably with substantial help from… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Just to focus on the Middle East... I think it is quite clear that, except for the Iran nuclear deal, under President… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The Soviet Union and its empire disappeared in large part because its smokestack economy could no longer keep up with the technological… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
India and the United States are the world's two largest democracies, and they are both multicultural democracies to boot. It only makes… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
I believe that nationalism is the most powerful political ideology in the world. — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
Normally the world's most powerful political ideology, nationalism had limited influence in the Soviet Union because it was at odds with communism.… — John Mearsheimer Copy Share Image
The German air offensives against British cities in World Wars I and II not only failed to coerce the United Kingdom to… — 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
