111-468: John Joseph Mearsheimer ( / ˈ m ɪər ʃ aɪ m ər / ; born December 14, 1947) is an American political scientist and international relations scholar. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago . Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism , which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by
222-486: A blitzkrieg strategy provides a way to defeat the enemy rapidly and decisively with relatively low costs. For Mearsheimer, failures in the modern battlefield are caused mostly by the potential attacker's belief that it can successfully implement a blitzkrieg strategy in which tanks and other mechanized forces are employed swiftly to cause deep penetration and to disrupt the enemy's rear. The two other strategies are unlikely to lead to deterrence failures because they entail
333-570: A doctorate in government, concentrating his studies in international relations. From 1978 to 1979, he was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC . From 1980 to 1982, Mearsheimer was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University 's Center for International Affairs . Since 1982, Mearsheimer has been a member of the faculty of the Department of Political Science at
444-649: A multipolar environment, similar to that of the first half of the 20th century, if American and Soviet forces left after the end of the Cold War . In another article that year in The Atlantic , he predicted that the multipolar environment would increase nuclear proliferation in Europe, especially in Germany. In that essay and in the 1993 Foreign Affairs article "The case for a Ukrainian nuclear deterrent", he argues that to reduce
555-488: A Blatantly Anti-Semitic Book?" He stated that the book "argues that Jews seek to control the world." Mearsheimer denied the charges of antisemitism in that he had "no reason to amend it or embellish" his blurb and defended his position. Responding to the charge by Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic that Atzmon is antisemitic and, by implication, so is his positive review of Atzmon's book, Mearsheimer wrote: "Atzmon's basic point
666-576: A back-cover blurb for controversial author Gilad Atzmon 's book The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics : "Gilad Atzmon has written a fascinating and provocative book on Jewish identity in the modern world. He shows how assimilation and liberalism are making it increasingly difficult for Jews in the Diaspora to maintain a powerful sense of their 'Jewishness.' Panicked Jewish leaders, he argues, have turned to Zionism (blind loyalty to Israel) and scaremongering (the threat of another Holocaust) to keep
777-547: A decisive US victory, with less than 1,000 American casualties. Mearsheimer's argument was based on several points. Firstly, the Iraqi Army was a Third World military that was unprepared to fight mobile armored battles. Secondly, US armored forces were better equipped and trained. Thirdly, US artillery was also far better than its Iraqi counterpart. Fourthly, US airpower, unfettered by the weak Iraqi air force, should prove devastating against Iraqi ground forces. Fifthly and finally,
888-540: A growing superpower that might one day unseat America's dominant position. In a 2004 speech, Mearsheimer praised the British historian E. H. Carr for his 1939 book The Twenty Years' Crisis and argued that Carr was correct when he claimed that international relations were a struggle of all against all, with states always placing their own interests first. Mearsheimer maintained that Carr's points were still as relevant for 2004 as for 1939 and went on to deplore what he claimed
999-480: A host of political systems and situations. Other approaches include the study of equation-based models and opinion dynamics. Political theorists approach theories of political phenomena with a similar diversity of positions and tools, including feminist political theory , historical analysis associated with the Cambridge school , and Straussian approaches . Political science may overlap with topics of study that are
1110-482: A key role in setting up political science departments that were distinct from history, philosophy, law, sociology, and economics. The journal Political Science Quarterly was established in 1886 by the Academy of Political Science. In the inaugural issue of Political Science Quarterly , Munroe Smith defined political science as "the science of the state. Taken in this sense, it includes the organization and functions of
1221-411: A low probability of success, accompanied by high costs ( attrition warfare ) or limited gains and the possibility of the conflict turning into a war of attrition ( limited aims ). However, if the attacker has a coherent blitzkrieg strategy available, an attack is likely to ensue because its potential benefits outweigh the costs and risks of starting a war. Besides analyzing cases from World War II and
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#17328731994621332-490: A more analytical corpus of knowledge in the discipline. This period saw a surge of research that borrowed theory and methods from economics to study political institutions, such as the United States Congress, as well as political behavior, such as voting. William H. Riker and his colleagues and students at the University of Rochester were the main proponents of this shift. Despite considerable research progress in
1443-608: A nuclear deterrent, especially to balance against China and Pakistan and to guarantee regional stability. He also criticized the American counterproliferation policy towards India, which he considers to be unrealistic and harmful to American interests in the region. At the Korea Global Forum 2023 organized by South Korea's Ministry of Unification in Seoul, Mearsheimer stated at keynote speech that North Korea possessing nuclear weapons
1554-586: A prominent contributor, as "consistently radical". Unlike The Times Literary Supplement (TLS), the majority of the articles the LRB publishes (usually fifteen per issue) are long essays. Some articles in each issue are not based on books, while several short articles discuss film or exhibitions. Political and social essays are frequent. The magazine is headquartered in Bloomsbury , London. Wilmers took over as editor in 1992 and remained as editor for almost 30 years. She
1665-497: A response article, the prominent neoliberal institutionalist scholars Robert Keohane and Lisa Martin acknowledge that seminal institutionalist works tended to neglect the problem of relative gains but maintain that the debate spawned by realist challenges "has made distributional and bargaining issues more salient than they were in early neoliberal thinking." Mearsheimer charges that "a careful look at Keohane and Martin's response reveals that liberal institutionalism in its latest form
1776-534: A rich field for the growth of both normative and positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some historical predecessors. The American Political Science Association and the American Political Science Review were founded in 1903 and 1906, respectively, in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from economics and other social phenomena. APSA membership rose from 204 in 1904 to 1,462 in 1915. APSA members played
1887-446: A separate constituent college or academic department, then political science may be a separate department housed as part of a division or school of humanities or liberal arts . At some universities, especially research universities and in particular those that have a strong cooperation between research, undergraduate, and graduate faculty with a stronger more applied emphasis in public administration, political science would be taught by
1998-492: A separate study, which found that "by distorting the actual historical circumstances of the Blitzkrieg formation [Liddell Hart] obscured its temporal and cognitive origins.... The early-1950s display of the transformed version of Blitzkrieg as a historical fact, carrying the joint signature of Liddell Hart and Guderian, lent it an authentic touch and a professional legitimacy that could not be shaken." In contrast, Richard Swain of
2109-504: A state to become a global hegemon (see section on Night watchman below). Although that is theoretically possible, there is too much landmass and too many oceans, which he posits as having effective stopping power and acting as giant moats. Instead, he believes that states can achieve only regional hegemony . Furthermore, he argues that regional hegemons attempt to prevent other states from gaining hegemony in their region since peer competitors would be free to roam and thus could interfere in
2220-413: A study of human behavior , in all aspects of politics , observations in controlled environments are often challenging to reproduce or duplicate, though experimental methods are increasingly common (see experimental political science ). Citing this difficulty, former American Political Science Association President Lawrence Lowell once said "We are limited by the impossibility of experiment. Politics
2331-411: A university discipline was marked by the creation of university departments and chairs with the title of political science arising in the late 19th century. The designation "political scientist" is commonly used to denote someone with a doctorate or master's degree in the field. Integrating political studies of the past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political science has provided
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#17328731994622442-472: A variety of capacities, people educated and trained in political science can add value and expertise to corporations . Private enterprises such as think tanks , research institutes, polling and public relations firms often employ political scientists. Political scientists may study political phenomena within one specific country. For example, they may study just the politics of the United States or just
2553-415: A widely cited 1994 article, "The False Promise of International Institutions", Mearsheimer tackles popular arguments about the ability of institutions to discourage war and promote peace among states. He recognizes that states often find institutions to be useful, but the imperative of relentless security competition under anarchy means that state behavior is primarily a function of the distribution of power in
2664-412: Is methodologically diverse and appropriates many methods originating in psychology, social research , political philosophy, and many others, in addition to those that developed chiefly within the field of political science. Political scientists approach the study of politics from a host of different ontological orientations and with a variety of different tools. Because political science is essentially
2775-416: Is a defining feature of contemporary political science. Empirical political science methods include the use of field experiments, surveys and survey experiments, case studies, process tracing, historical and institutional analysis, ethnography, participant observation, and interview research. Political scientists also use and develop theoretical tools like game theory and agent-based models to study
2886-401: Is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political institutions, political thought and behavior, and associated constitutions and laws . As a social science, contemporary political science started to take shape in the latter half of the 19th century and began to separate itself from political philosophy and history. Into
2997-951: Is a social study concerning the allocation and transfer of power in decision making , the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations , political behaviour, and public policies . It measures the success of governance and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability , justice , material wealth , peace , and public health . Some political scientists seek to advance positive theses (which attempt to describe how things are, as opposed to how they should be) by analysing politics; others advance normative theses, such as by making specific policy recommendations. The study of politics and policies can be closely connected—for example, in comparative analyses of which types of political institutions tend to produce certain types of policies. Political science provides analysis and predictions about political and governmental issues. Political scientists examine
3108-409: Is an observational, not an experimental science." Because of this, political scientists have historically observed political elites, institutions, and individual or group behaviour in order to identify patterns, draw generalizations, and build theories of politics. Like all social sciences, political science faces the difficulty of observing human actors that can only be partially observed and who have
3219-420: Is likely any time soon. States remain the principal actors in world politics and there is still no night watchman standing above them." Five more years later, Mearsheimer confirmed that "in an anarchic system there is no night watchman for a state to call when trouble comes knocking at their door." Precisely two decades after Mearsheimer had detected the watchman in the world for the last time, he rediscovered
3330-450: Is no longer a clear alternative to realism, but has, in fact, been swallowed up by it." Mearsheimer is the leading proponent of offensive realism . The structural theory, unlike the classical realism of Hans Morgenthau , places the principal emphasis on security competition among great powers within the anarchy of the international system, not on the human nature of statesmen and diplomats. In contrast to another structural realist theory,
3441-570: Is not an ideal situation, but can be seen as "force of stability". This is because the US provides a nuclear umbrella to South Korea while North Korea has their own nuclear weapons as a necessary deterrent against the US and other adversaries. Mearsheimer also stated that possession of nuclear weapons by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War played a big role in both sides not attacking each other. In
John Mearsheimer - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-507: Is not appropriate to label it a " Jewish lobby " because not all Jews feel a strong attachment to Israel , and because some of the individuals and groups who work to foster US support for Israel are not Jewish. For example, Christian Zionists also play an important role. Finally, they emphasize that the lobby is not a cabal or a conspiracy but simply a powerful interest group, like the National Rifle Association of America or
3663-460: Is not predetermined.... For its part, the Chinese leadership appears much more flexible and sophisticated than many previous aspirants to great power status." Mearsheimer responded that Chinese leaders are indeed prudent and have no incentive to "pick a fight" with the United States at the moment, but "what we are talking about is the situation in 2025 or 2030, when China has the military muscle to take on
3774-435: Is now widely accepted to be how the principle of deterrence works. Specifically, Mearsheimer argues that the success of deterrence is determined by the strategy available to the potential attacker. He lays out three strategies. Firstly, an attrition strategy entails a high level of uncertainty about the outcome of war and high costs for the attacker. Secondly, a limited-aims strategy entails fewer risks and lower costs. Thirdly,
3885-424: Is presented every three years to an American political scientist who has made distinguished scholarly contributions. The Award Committee noted that Mearsheimer is "one of the most cited International Relations scholars in the discipline, but his works are read well beyond the academy as well." A 2017 survey of US international relations faculty ranks him third among "scholars whose work has had the greatest influence on
3996-555: Is that Jews often talk in universalistic terms, but many of them think and act in particularistic terms. One might say they talk like liberals but act like nationalists.... It is in this context that he discusses what he calls the 'Holocaust religion,' Zionism, and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Again, to be perfectly clear, he has no animus toward Judaism as a religion or with individuals who are Jewish by birth." Mearsheimer asserts that China's rise will not be peaceful and that
4107-643: Is unlikely that China will go on a rampage and conquer other Asian countries. Instead, China will want to dictate the boundaries of acceptable behavior to neighboring countries, much the way the United States does in the Americas. An increasingly powerful China is also likely to try to push the United States out of Asia, much the way the United States pushed the European great powers out of the Western Hemisphere." In his response, Brzezinski argued, "How great powers behave
4218-820: The London Review of Books . He has written op-ed pieces for The New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , and the Chicago Tribune . Mearsheimer has won several teaching awards. He received the Clark Award for Distinguished Teaching when he was a graduate student at Cornell in 1977, and he won the Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Chicago in 1985. In addition, he
4329-617: The Arab–Israeli conflict , Mearsheimer's 1983 book extrapolates implications from his theory for the prospects of conventional deterrence in Central Europe during the late Cold War . It argues that a Soviet attack is unlikely because the Soviet military would be unable to successfully implement a blitzkrieg strategy. The book argues that the balance of forces, the difficulty of advancing rapidly with mechanized forces through Central Europe, and
4440-632: The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations , Ronald Lauder of the World Jewish Congress , Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America , as well as businessmen such as Sheldon Adelson , Lester Crown , and Mortimer Zuckerman and "media personalities" like Fred Hiatt , Charles Krauthammer , Bret Stephens , and Martin Peretz . In 2011, John Mearsheimer wrote
4551-728: The International Spy Museum in 2010, Mearsheimer asserted that a nuclear Israel was contrary to US interests and questioned Israel's accountability in the matter. He stated that there was "no accountability for Israel on any issue" because he surmised, "The Israelis can do almost anything and get away with it." In April 2010, Mearsheimer delivered the Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture at the Palestine Center in Washington, D.C., which he titled "The Future of Palestine: Righteous Jews vs.
John Mearsheimer - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-639: The Third Reich . What is disturbing about Liddell Hart's case, however, is that eventually he was able to escape from this predicament by rewriting history. The national security community, especially its historians, need to be alert to historical manipulation for selfish reasons (p. 224). Mearsheimer's arguments about Liddell Hart generated varied responses. For example, the founder of the Israel Defense Forces Operational Theory Research Institute, Simon Naveh, concurred in
4773-554: The US Army Command and General Staff College argued that while "there is a good deal about which Mearsheimer is correct," he likely overstates the extent to which Liddell Hart's historical distortions were consciously self-serving: "To charge Liddell Hart with cleverly creating a deception requires one first to accept that Liddell Hart knew he had been wrong. There is little or no evidence of that." In 1990, Mearsheimer published an essay in which he predicted that Europe would revert to
4884-590: The United States Military Academy at West Point , which he attended from 1966 to 1970. Commissioned at graduation, Mearsheimer then served five years as an officer in the United States Air Force . In 1974, while in the Air Force, Mearsheimer earned a master's degree in international relations from the University of Southern California . He entered Cornell University and in 1980 earned
4995-602: The University of Chicago . He became an associate professor in 1984 and a full professor in 1987 and was appointed the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in 1996. From 1989 to 1992, he served as chairman of the department. He also holds a position as a faculty member in the Committee on International Relations graduate program, and he is a co-director of the Program on International Security Policy. Mearsheimer's books include Conventional Deterrence (1983), which won
5106-460: The University of Wales in Aberystwyth , he maintained that in spite of European integration and expansion, he still believed that his predictions would come true if the US military left Europe. Also, in op-ed pieces written in 1998 and 2000 for The New York Times , Mearsheimer explains why it makes sense for India to pursue nuclear weapons. He argues that India has good strategic reasons to want
5217-418: The defensive realism of Kenneth Waltz , offensive realism maintains that states are not satisfied with a given amount of power but seek hegemony for security because the anarchic makeup of the international system creates strong incentives for states to seek opportunities to gain power at the expense of competitors. Mearsheimer summarized that view in his 2001 book The Tragedy of Great Power Politics : Given
5328-423: The politics of China . Political scientists look at a variety of data, including constitutions, elections , public opinion , and public policy , foreign policy , legislatures, and judiciaries. Political scientists will often focus on the politics of their own country; for example, a political scientist from Indonesia may become an expert in the politics of Indonesia. The theory of political transitions, and
5439-498: The rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system . In accordance with his theory, Mearsheimer believes that China's growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States. In his 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy , Mearsheimer argues that the Israel lobby wields disproportionate influence over U.S. foreign policy . His more recent work focuses on relations between
5550-458: The "new Afrikaners ", who will support Israel even if it is an apartheid state; "righteous Jews", who believe that individual rights are universal and apply equally to Jews and Palestinians; and the largest group, which he called the "great ambivalent middle". He concluded that most of the "great ambivalent middle" would not defend an apartheid Israel because "American Jews are among the staunchest defenders of traditional liberal values." Accordingly,
5661-597: The "new Afrikaners" would become increasingly marginalized over time. Mearsheimer stated that he "would classify most of the individuals who head the Israel lobby's major organizations as "'new Afrikaners'" and specifically listed a number of prominent Jews and Jewish organizations, including Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League , David Harris of the American Jewish Committee , Malcolm Hoenlein of
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#17328731994625772-550: The Cake Shop next door in November 2007. The bookshop is used as a venue for author presentations and discussions. In 2011, when Pankaj Mishra criticised Niall Ferguson 's book Civilisation: The West and the Rest in the LRB , Ferguson threatened to sue for libel. In 2023, Hebrew Writers Association in Israel openly published a protest response to the letter of support for Gaza that
5883-695: The Edgar S. Furniss Jr. Book Award; Nuclear Deterrence: Ethics and Strategy (co-editor, 1985); Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (1988); The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001), which won the Lepgold Book Prize ; The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (2007); and Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics (2011). His articles have appeared in academic journals like International Security and popular magazines like
5994-702: The New Afrikaners." He argued that "the two-state solution is now a fantasy" because Israel will incorporate the Gaza Strip and the West Bank into a " Greater Israel ", which would become an apartheid state. According to Mearsheimer, such a state would not be politically viable, most American Jews would not support it, and it would eventually become a democratic binational state politically dominated by its Palestinian majority. He suggested that "American Jews who care deeply about Israel" could be divided into three categories:
6105-473: The US from exercising independent influence. Mearsheimer was also critical of Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that began in December 2008. He argued that it would not eliminate Hamas 's capability to fire missiles and rockets at Israel and that it would not cause Hamas to end its fight with Israel. In fact, he argued that relations between Israel and the Palestinians were likely to get worse in
6216-486: The US will attempt to form a balancing coalition that consists primarily of India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia to counter the growing strength and power projection capabilities of China. Mearsheimer presented a fuller statement of his views on China's rise in his 2014 updated edition of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics , arguing that "if China continues its striking economic growth over
6327-669: The US will seek to contain China and to prevent it from achieving regional hegemony. Mearsheimer argues that although containing China militarily is possible, economic containment of China is not. Mearsheimer believes that China will attempt to dominate the Indo-Pacific region just as the US set out to dominate the Western Hemisphere . China's goal will be to gain a position of military superiority over its neighbors, which it sees as potentially dangerous threats. Additionally, he maintains that
6438-690: The United States and China and the West's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Mearsheimer was born in December 1947 in Brooklyn , New York City to a family of German and Irish descent. When he was eight, he moved with his family to Croton-on-Hudson, New York , a suburb in Westchester County . When he was 17, Mearsheimer enlisted in the US Army . After one year as an enlisted man, he obtained an appointment to
6549-440: The United States is Pi Sigma Alpha , while Pi Alpha Alpha is a national honor society specifically designated for public administration . London Review of Books The London Review of Books ( LRB ) is a British literary magazine published bimonthly (twice a month) that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews . The London Review of Books
6660-485: The United States, see political science as part of a broader discipline of political studies or politics in general. While political science implies the use of the scientific method , political studies implies a broader approach, although the naming of degree courses does not necessarily reflect their content. Separate, specialized or, in some cases, professional degree programs in international relations , public policy , and public administration are common at both
6771-517: The United States. What happens then, when China has a much larger gross national product and a much more formidable military than it has today? The history of great powers offers a straightforward answer[.]" Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics . It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior , and associated constitutions and laws . Political science
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#17328731994626882-556: The United States? Are the Chinese more principled than we are? More ethical? Are they less nationalistic? Less concerned about their survival? They are none of these things, of course, which is why China is likely to follow basic realist logic and attempt to become a regional hegemon in Asia (pp. 374-375). In a subsequent debate with former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski in Foreign Policy magazine, Mearsheimer clarified, "It
6993-415: The allegations. After meeting with her for over three hours, Mearsheimer publicly declared, "I believe that Noelle-Neumann was an anti-Semite," and he spearheaded a campaign to ask her for an apology. He joined other University of Chicago faculty in writing a joint piece for Commentary that reacted to Noelle-Neumann's reply to the accusation against her. They declared that "by providing rhetorical support for
7104-407: The article was to claim that "texts written under a dictatorship more than 50 years ago cannot be read as they were in 1937, 1939 or 1941. Severed from the time and place where they were written, they are no longer real, for reality is in part based on time and place." As chairman of Chicago's political science department at the time, Mearsheimer sat down with Noelle-Neumann to discuss the article and
7215-406: The capacity for making conscious choices, unlike other subjects, such as non-human organisms in biology , minerals in geoscience , chemical elements in chemistry , stars in astronomy , or particles in physics . Despite the complexities, contemporary political science has progressed by adopting a variety of methods and theoretical approaches to understanding politics, and methodological pluralism
7326-570: The case of Guderian, Liddell Hart effectively acted as his "literary agent" for the English-speaking world (p. 185). Fritz Bayerlein , who served as General Erwin Rommel 's chief of staff in the North African campaign , similarly helped Liddell Hart manipulate the historical record for a false portrayal of Rommel as having been his "pupil" (pp. 193–201). Mearsheimer concludes by emphasizing
7437-459: The characteristics and functions of the ideal state. Generally, classical political philosophy is primarily defined by a concern for Hellenic and Enlightenment thought, political scientists are also marked by a great concern for " modernity " and the contemporary nation state , along with the study of classical thought, and as such share more terminology with sociologists (e.g., structure and agency ). The advent of political science as
7548-414: The continent. Mearsheimer argues it to be strategically unwise for Ukraine to surrender its nuclear arsenal (remnants of the Soviet stockpile). However, in 1994 a series of agreements required Ukraine to agree to get rid of its entire former Soviet nuclear stockpile, a process that was complete by 1996. When challenged on the former assertion at a lecture given to the International Politics department at
7659-423: The conventional wisdom on Liddell Hart's contributions to modern military thought was flawed. In particular, the theory of the indirect approach , which Liddell Hart developed in the 1930s, is so vague and tautological that "virtually every military victory can be ascribed to [it]." (p. 87). Moreover, Liddell Hart's limited attempts to operationalize the theory clearly indicated that what he primarily had in mind
7770-457: The dangers of war, the US should accept the possibility of Germany and Ukraine developing a nuclear arsenal and work to prevent the rise of excessive nationalism . Mearsheimer presents several possible scenarios for a Europe after the departure of American and Russian forces. He states that a Europe with nuclear proliferation was most likely to remain at peace because without a nuclear deterrent, Germany would be likely to once more try to conquer
7881-421: The decision makers' beliefs about the outcome of the war affect the success or failure of deterrence. Mearsheimer's basic argument is that deterrence is likely to work when the potential attacker believes that an attack will be costly and is unlikely to succeed. However, if the potential attacker has reason to believe the attack will entail low costs and is likely to succeed, deterrence is likely to break down, which
7992-565: The difficulty of determining how much power is enough for today and tomorrow, great powers recognize that the best way to ensure their security is to achieve hegemony now, thus eliminating any possibility of a challenge by another great power. Only a misguided state would pass up an opportunity to be the hegemon in the system because it thought it already had sufficient power to survive. He also dismisses democratic peace theory , which claims that democracies never or rarely go to war with each other. Mearsheimer does not believe it to be possible for
8103-535: The discipline based on all types of scholarship discussed above, scholars have noted that progress toward systematic theory has been modest and uneven. In 2000, the Perestroika Movement in political science was introduced as a reaction against what supporters of the movement called the mathematicization of political science. Those who identified with the movement argued for a plurality of methodologies and approaches in political science and for more relevance of
8214-500: The discipline to those outside of it. Some evolutionary psychology theories argue that humans have evolved a highly developed set of psychological mechanisms for dealing with politics. However, these mechanisms evolved for dealing with the small group politics that characterized the ancestral environment and not the much larger political structures in today's world. This is argued to explain many important features and systematic cognitive biases of current politics. Political science
8325-470: The discipline. A focus on studying political behavior, rather than institutions or interpretation of legal texts, characterized early behavioral political science, including work by Robert Dahl , Philip Converse , and in the collaboration between sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld and public opinion scholar Bernard Berelson . The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a takeoff in the use of deductive, game-theoretic formal modelling techniques aimed at generating
8436-557: The effects of anarchy on the Western democracies and induced cooperation among them ... With the United States serving as a night watchman, fears about relative gains among the Western European states were mitigated ..." Afterwards, Mearsheimer did not mention the "watchman" for some time. A decade later, he described the "international anarchy" as having not changed with the end of the Cold War, "... and there are few signs that such change
8547-416: The established regional hegemon's neighborhood. States that have achieved regional hegemony, such as the United States (see Monroe Doctrine ), will act as offshore balancers by interfering in other regions if the great powers in those regions cannot prevent the rise of a hegemon. Mearsheimer's theory of offensive realism has become a popular explanation of the American strategic approach in resisting China as
8658-493: The exclusion of Jews, her words helped make the disreputable reputable, the indecent decent, the uncivilized civilized, and the unthinkable thinkable." Mearsheimer said, "Knowing what we know now about the Holocaust, there is no reason for her not to apologize. To ask somebody who played a contributing role in the greatest crime of the 20th century to say 'I'm sorry' is not unreasonable." In March 2006, Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt ,
8769-443: The farm lobby. Their core argument is that the policies pushed by the lobby are not in the national interest of the US or ultimately of Israel . Those pieces generated extensive media coverage and led to a wide-ranging and often heated debate, including charges of antisemitism, between supporters and opponents of their argument. The article was subsequently turned into a book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy . Mearsheimer
8880-419: The field of International Relations in the past 20 years." Mearsheimer popularized the term rollback to describe the geopolitical strategy of inciting unrest in a rival country while supporting government change covertly or overtly. Mearsheimer's first book, Conventional Deterrence (1983), addresses the issue of how the decision to start a war depends on the projected outcome of the war, in other words, how
8991-483: The former academic dean and professor of international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School , published a working paper and a London Review of Books article discussing the power of the Israel lobby shaping the U.S. foreign policy . They define the Israel lobby as "a loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction." They state that it
9102-628: The formidable NATO forces opposing such a Soviet attack results in low chances for the Soviets to start a conventional war in Europe. Mearsheimer's second book, Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (1988), reassesses the intellectual legacies of the 20th century British military theorist B. H. Liddell Hart . While acknowledging that his own research had "profited greatly from his stimulating writings" and that Liddell Hart's works should still be considered "essential reading for serious students of strategy and warfare" (p. x), Mearsheimer argues that much of
9213-516: The forward deployment of Iraqi reserves boded ill for their ability to counter US efforts to penetrate the Iraqi defense line along the Saudi–Kuwaiti border. All of those predictions came true during the course of the war. In October 1991, Mearsheimer was drawn into a bitter controversy at the University of Chicago regarding Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann , then a visiting professor from Germany. Noelle-Neumann
9324-411: The ideas that led to the development of Germany's blitzkrieg strategy. Eager to restore their own tarnished reputation after the war, retired German generals such as Heinz Guderian allowed Liddell Hart to exaggerate his influence on blitzkrieg in their memoirs in exchange for helping them promote an image of themselves as having been military innovators first and foremost rather than Nazi henchmen. In
9435-551: The importance of a robust intellectual community that can hold "defense intellectuals" accountable: Defense intellectuals need to know that informed judgments will be passed on their views and their overall conduct and that charlatanism will be exposed. Absence of penalties for misbehavior means no brake on the spread of false ideas. Liddell Hart actually was held accountable at one point. The significant ebbing of his influence during and immediately after World War II was, in effect, punishment for offering flawed ideas for how to deal with
9546-531: The importance of the deep strategic penetration [that distinguishes blitzkrieg ] before World War II " (p. 43). Not surprisingly, Liddell Hart was proven utterly wrong on the fundamental military questions of the interwar period (he dismissed the possibility of a decisive German offensive in the Western front ) and fell into disrepute in the immediate aftermath of the war. Mearsheimer shows that Liddell Hart managed to salvage his intellectual stature by convincing former Wehrmacht generals to credit him with
9657-641: The international system. Institutions, at best, are "merely an intervening variable in the process." Mearsheimer maintains that "institutionalist theories" offered poor alternatives to this grim picture of international politics. In particular, influential neoliberal institutionalist arguments ignore relative-gains concerns as a barrier to cooperation and fail to provide evidence that instances of cooperation, which are commonly attributed to institutions, would not have taken place in their absence. Other theories such as collective security theory and critical theory likewise fell short on logical and empirical grounds. In
9768-504: The last century when Japan was powerful and China was weak.... [They also] surely remember what happened in the hundred years between the First Opium War (1832–42) and the end of World War II (1945), when the United States and the European great powers took advantage of a weak China and not only violated its sovereignty but also imposed unfair treaties on it and exploited it economically. Why should we expect China to act differently than
9879-430: The late 19th century, it was still uncommon for political science to be considered a distinct field from history. The term "political science" was not always distinguished from political philosophy, and the modern discipline has a clear set of antecedents including moral philosophy, political economy, political theology , history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing
9990-465: The methods of analyzing and anticipating crises, form an important part of political science. Several general indicators of crises and methods were proposed for anticipating critical transitions. Among them, one statistical indicator of crisis, a simultaneous increase of variance and correlations in large groups, was proposed for crisis anticipation and may be successfully used in various areas. Its applicability for early diagnosis of political crises
10101-489: The next few decades, it is likely to act in accordance with the logic of offensive realism .... Specifically, it will try to dominate Asia the way the United States dominates the Western Hemisphere." In accordance with the theory's structural logic, China will pursue regional hegemony not because its domestic politics or ideology inclines it toward aggression but because "domination offers the best way to survive under international anarchy" (p. 368). Mearsheimer stressed that China
10212-644: The processes, systems and political dynamics of countries and regions of the world, often to raise public awareness or to influence specific governments. Political scientists may provide the frameworks from which journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate analyze issues. According to Chaturvedy, Political scientists may serve as advisers to specific politicians, or even run for office as politicians themselves. Political scientists can be found working in governments, in political parties, or as civil servants. They may be involved with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or political movements. In
10323-425: The social sciences as a whole, can be described "as a discipline which lives on the fault line between the 'two cultures' in the academy, the sciences and the humanities ." Thus, in most American colleges, especially liberal arts colleges , it would be located within the school or college of arts and sciences . If no separate college of arts and sciences exists, or if the college or university prefers that it be in
10434-586: The state, and the relation of states one to another." As part of a UNESCO initiative to promote political science in the late 1940s, the International Political Science Association was founded in 1949, as well as national associations in France in 1949, Britain in 1950, and West Germany in 1951. In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioral revolution stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group behavior swept
10545-421: The study of culture in anthropology. In turn, methodologies that are developed within political science may influence how researchers in other fields, like public health, conceive of and approach political processes and policies. The most common piece of academic writing in generalist political sciences is the research paper, which investigates an original research question . Political science, possibly like
10656-514: The traditional focuses of other social sciences—for example, when sociological norms or psychological biases are connected to political phenomena. In these cases, political science may either inherit their methods of study or develop a contrasting approach. For example, Lisa Wedeen has argued that political science's approach to the idea of culture, originating with Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba and exemplified by authors like Samuel P. Huntington , could benefit from aligning more closely with
10767-467: The tribe united and distinct from the surrounding goyim. As Atzmon's own case demonstrates, this strategy is not working and is causing many Jews great anguish. The Wandering Who? should be widely read by Jews and non-Jews alike." Mearsheimer's endorsement of Atzmon's book was met with accusations of antisemitism by prominent Jewish writers and intellectuals. Alan Dershowitz wrote an article in response, "Why are John Mearsheimer and Richard Falk Endorsing
10878-602: The undergraduate and postgraduate levels, although most but not all undergraduate level education in these sub-fields of political science is generally found in academic concentrations within a political science academic major . Master's-level programs in public administration are professional degrees covering public policy along with other applied subjects; they are often seen as more linked to politics than any other discipline, which may be reflected by being housed in that department. The main national honor society for college and university students of government and politics in
10989-458: The university's public policy school . Most United States colleges and universities offer BA programs in political science. MA or MAT and PhD or EdD programs are common at larger universities. The term political science is more popular in post-1960s North America than elsewhere while universities predating the 1960s or those historically influenced by them would call the field of study government ; other institutions, especially those outside
11100-582: The watchman, which exists and keeps Europe at peace. The article "Why Is Europe Peaceful Today?" unambiguously answers, "The reason is simple: the United States is by far the most powerful country in the world and it effectively acts as a night watchman ." In January and early February 1991, Mearsheimer published two op-eds in the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times and argued that the war to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi forces would be quick and lead to
11211-545: The years ahead. Mearsheimer emphasizes that the only hope for Israel to end its conflict with the Palestinians is to end the occupation and to allow the Palestinians to have their own state in Gaza and the West Bank. Otherwise, Israel will turn itself into an "apartheid state". That would be a disastrous outcome for Israel but also the United States and especially the Palestinians. Mearsheimer's criticisms of Israel further extended to its possession of nuclear weapons. In remarks made at
11322-518: Was a prominent German pollster and a leading academic on public opinion research, who authored the highly regarded book, The Spiral of Silence . The debate centered on an article written for Commentary magazine by Leo Bogart , "The Pollster and the Nazis," which described Noelle-Neumann's past employment as a writer and editor for the Nazi newspaper Das Reich from 1940 to 1942. Noelle-Neumann's response to
11433-416: Was also developed. The study of major crises, both political crises and external crises that can affect politics, is not limited to attempts to predict regime transitions or major changes in political institutions. Political scientists also study how governments handle unexpected disasters, and how voters in democracies react to their governments' preparations for and responses to crises. Political science
11544-515: Was critical of the 2006 Lebanon War . He argued that Israel's strategy was "doomed to fail" because it was based on the "faulty assumption" that Israeli air power could defeat Hezbollah , which was essentially a guerrilla force. The war, he argued, was a disaster for the Lebanese people, as well as a "major setback" for the United States and Israel. He said that the Israel lobby played a key role in enabling Israel's counterproductive response by preventing
11655-525: Was demonstrated by the analysis of the prolonged stress period preceding the 2014 Ukrainian economic and political crisis. There was a simultaneous increase in the total correlation between the 19 major public fears in the Ukrainian society (by about 64%) and in their statistical dispersion (by 29%) during the pre-crisis years. A feature shared by certain major revolutions is that they were not predicted. The theory of apparent inevitability of crises and revolutions
11766-676: Was founded in 1979, when publication of The Times Literary Supplement was suspended during the year-long lock-out at The Times . Its founding editors were Karl Miller , then professor of English at University College London ; Mary-Kay Wilmers , formerly an editor at The Times Literary Supplement ; and Susannah Clapp , a former editor at Jonathan Cape . For its first six months, it appeared as an insert in The New York Review of Books . It became an independent publication in May 1980. Its political stance has been described by Alan Bennett ,
11877-763: Was selected as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar for the 1993–1994 academic year. In that capacity, he gave a series of talks at eight colleges and universities. During the 1998–1999 academic year, he was the Whitney H. Shepardson Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. In 2003, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . He is the recipient of the American Political Science Association 's 2020 James Madison Award, which
11988-507: Was simply following America's example in that regard: These ambitious goals make good strategic sense for China (although this is not to say China will necessarily be able to achieve them). Beijing should want a militarily weak and isolated India, Japan, and Russia as its neighbors, just as the United States prefers a militarily weak Canada and Mexico on its borders. What state in its right mind would want other powerful countries located in its region? All Chinese surely remember what happened over
12099-566: Was succeeded by Jean McNicol and Alice Spawls in 2021. Average circulation per issue for January to December 2023 was 74,743. In January 2010, The Times wrote that the London Review was £27M in debt to the Wilmers' family trust, although the trust had "no intention of the lender seeking repayment of the loan in the near future". The London Review Bookshop opened in Bloomsbury in May 2003, and
12210-515: Was the dominance of " idealist " thinking about international relations in British academic life. Night watchman in Mearsheimer's terminology is a "global hegemon", a theoretical impossibility according to The Tragedy of Great Power Politics . Nevertheless, in 1990, Mearsheimer mentioned the existence of a "watchman". Democracies lived at peace because "America's hegemonic position in NATO ... mitigated
12321-408: Was to "indirectly" defeat a continental adversary by "break[ing] the morale of the enemy's civilian population, not to destroy his military forces, which of course is what the blitzkrieg is concerned with" (p. 88). The common practice of tracing the intellectual origins of the blitzkrieg strategy to the indirect approach is thus mistaken since there was "no evidence... that Liddell Hart understood
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