Season 3, Episode 1: John Mearsheimer, How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy

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Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and political scientist John
Mearsheimer as they discuss Professor Mearsheimer’s latest book,
How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy. Hailed as
the most influential foreign policy realist of his generation,
Mearsheimer and co-author Prof. Sebastian Rosato provide a
groundbreaking examination of a central question in international
relations: Do states act rationally?


Together, they discuss the book’s core idea: that states are
generally rational in their foreign policymaking, in the sense
that they use deliberative processes grounded in plausible
theories of the world.  Through a fascinating analysis of
historical case studies, Mearsheimer and Rosato argue that states
think rationally most of the time, though not always with
successful outcomes.

Yet. as Sachs and Mearsheimer discuss, sometimes states do indeed
act irrationally - as when the US invaded Iraq in 2003.  In
their discussion, Professors Sachs and Mearsheimer cover
considerable ground, discussing the World Wars, the Cold War, and
the War in Ukraine.

The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG
Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable
Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at
bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.

Footnotes:



Ukraine War 


Vladimir Putin


International Relations 


Foreign Policy 


Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire


NATO


Wikileaks


Balance of Power Theory 


Benjamin Netanyahu


Realist Theory


Open Door Policy 


Bush Administration NATO Expansion 


Hegemony


Georgia NATO Relations


Russian December 2021 Ultimatum



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