CAS IR 271 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Great Power, Power Five Conferences, Hegemony
25 Jan 2017
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Anarchy and the struggle for power, john j. mearsheimer. Five assumptions about the international system explain why great powers vie with each other for power and strive for hegemony. None of these assumptions alone mandates that states behave competitively, but together, they depict a world in which states have considerable reason to think and sometimes heave aggressively: bedrock assumptions. Together, they create powerful incentives for great powers to think and act offensively with regard to each other, particularly three general patterns of behaviors: fear, self-help, and power maximization. First assumption: the international system is anarchic, which does not mean that it is chaotic or riven by disorder. Second assumption: great powers inherently possess some offensive military capability, which gives them the wherewithal to hurt and possibly destroy each other. Third assumption: states can never be certain about other states" intentions. Fourth assumption: survival is the primary goal of great powers. Fifth assumption: great powers are rational actors: state behavior.
