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AmericanCardigan's avatar

Interesting read and assessment by Bertrand. I don't always favor his analysis of things but seems he provides a critique (as well as Fernandez's book) that should be required reading in some circles shared by Neocons. I think it makes sense and can understand how J.M.'s "macro / one size fits all" views need to be sliced and filtered more. Appreciate the post.

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dissonant1's avatar

I didn't know about Mearsheimer and Realism. The statement "...all states - regardless of culture, religion, social hierarchy or political system - will act in the same way because they all prioritize survival and security above all else" is in fact a gross denial of reality. No. #1, all states and cultures are different from one another and are always changing; No. #2, the situations which face each state are complex and dynamic, and the state's actions will be conditioned by a subjective view of those situations and of the potential impact of the responsive actions to them; #3, the motivations of the states are dependent on who has power within them and that can change drastically at any time - as an example, a Trump admin vs. a Biden admin. Is the Biden admin really interested in survival and security of the U.S.? Could have fooled me.

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