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Mearsheimer's Theory Of Offensive Neorealism

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Offensive neo-realism:
Mearsheimer is the leading proponent of the theory of offensive neorealism. It is a structural theory which, unlike the classical realism theory related to the IR scholar Hans Morgenthau, it places the principal emphasis on the struggled competition for security among the great powers within the anarchy of the international system, and not principally on the human nature of statesmen and diplomats. Realism however, focuses on the need for power and states that human nature is rational, power hungry with the main focus on state sovereignty. It focuses on the need for security as a state and how the states compete for it.
Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive neorealism is mainly built on the five core assumptions. These are the core foundations of offensive neorealism. The first assumption made is that anarchy is a clearly evident aspect in the international system, which means that there is no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can guarantee limits on the behavior of states (Mearsheimer 2001, 30). The second assumption is that all great powers possess offensive military capabilities, which they are capable of using against other states (Mearsheimer 2001, 30-31). The third assumption in the theory is that states can never be certain that other states will refrain from using those offensive military capabilities (Mearsheimer 2001, 31). Fourth, states seek to to maintain their survival which includes their territorial above all other goals,

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