Home - John Mearsheimer (original) (raw)

I am the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Chicago, where I have taught since 1982.

Above all else, I am an international relations theorist. More specifically, I am a realist, which means that I believe that the great powers dominate the international system, and they constantly engage in security competition with each other, which sometimes leads to war.

Although I have dedicated my life to scholarship, I have also engaged in the policy debates of the day. For example, I was one of the most outspoken opponents of the 2003 Iraq War before it happened, and I have been deeply involved in the public discourse about the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. I firmly believe that social science theories are invaluable for making and analyzing foreign policy.

What do Al Capone, Michael Jordan, Milton Friedman, and John Mearsheimer all have in common?

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They were all born in Brooklyn and made their reputation in Chicago.

Featured Work

November 17, 2023

Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, China, NATO, and WW3

Lex Friedman Podcast

Mearsheimer talks about Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, China, NATO, and WW3 on the Lex Fridman Podcast.

Recent Work

September 5, 2023. Yale University Press

How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy

Mearsheimer talks about Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, China, NATO, and WW3 on the Lex Fridman Podcast.