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Michael Magoon's avatar

Yes, I read Mearsheimer’s book and I even have a summary of it on my online library of book summaries.

https://techratchet.com/2021/04/16/book-summary-the-tragedy-of-great-power-politics-by-john-mearsheimer/

Mearsheimer’s own stance on Russia seems to contradict his theory. His theory of “offensive realism” would seemingly predict that Russia will be aggressive towards Eastern Europe as soon as it returns to military strength. This suggests that Eastern Europe would have a strong incentive to join NATO as a deterrence.

A defensive alliance of small powers against a potentially hostile bigger power seems logical within the framework of the “offensive realism” theory. Particularly given Russian history in the region.

I agree with you that Mearsheimer appears to be more concerned with disagreeing with Liberal Idealism than being consistent.

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Nicholas Gruen's avatar

Thanks for an excellent post Lionel.

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