Book Talk: How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy

It has become a familiar trope of Western writing on current affairs to accuse opponents of the West of “irrationality” or even insanity. In domestic debates on US foreign policy, it is also common to see policies of which the commentator disapproves described as irrational. The result all too often is to limit debate on the real issues and interests involved. To discuss this issue and make the case for the basic rationality of most state foreign and security policies, Anatol Lieven was joined by Professor John Mearsheimer, renowned scholar of international relations and author, with Sebastian Rosato, of the groundbreaking How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy (Yale University Press 2023).
Download the full transcript webinar here:
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