The Different Camps of Realists: Structural and Human Naturalists

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The debate between realists is divided into structural realists and human nature realists. Hans Morgenthau, a human nature realist, believes in the will to power. On the other hand, the speaker identifies as a structural realist, attributing competition and war to the structure of the system rather than individual nature. Within structural realism, there is a distinction between offensive and defensive realists. Defensive realists focus on maintaining power, while offensive realists believe states actively seek opportunities to gain more power.

John Mearsheimer is an international relations scholar at University of Chicago. He is one of the most influential and controversial thinkers in the world on the topics of war and power. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/john-mearsheimer-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:
John’s Website: https://mearsheimer.com
John’s Books:
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics: https://amzn.to/3FWrqkX
How States Think: https://amzn.to/3udaWST
The Great Delusion: https://amzn.to/3syXKXS
Why Leaders Lie: https://amzn.to/3ucs4rU
The Israel Lobby: https://amzn.to/47fxrVU
Books Mentioned:
Leviathan: https://amzn.to/49zCFgu
The End of History and the Last Man: https://amzn.to/47wTVBf
Who Are We: https://amzn.to/3QXDk44

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:52) – Power
(33:06) – Hitler
(50:33) – Russia and Ukraine
(1:46:45) – Israel and Palestine
(2:47:37) – China
(3:29:58) – Life and mortality