Understanding Offensive Realism: Heritage, Surpass, Dilemmas And Indications

The end of the cold war indicates the termination of a historical period and also marks the beginning of a new history. In the historical transformation from the cold war times to the post-cold war times, the development of theories of international relations, which should take historical backgrounds into consideration, is characterized by quests, rethinks, debates and prospects. Among those theories, offensive realism, with John J. Mearsheimer, professor of Politics Department, University of Chicago, as the chief representative, is quite conspicuous.Mearsheimer's argument is based on his contention that in an "anarchic" world composed of sovereign nation-states, each great state tries to acquire the maximum amount of power feasible under the circumstances. This is so because the first goal of every great power is to survive, and the more power a nation-state has, the greater its chances of survival in this anarchic world. So the ultimate goal of great powers is try to achieve regional or global hegemony.Offensive realism not only inherits some of the main doctrines of traditional realism, but also surpasses them and brings forth some new ideas. Mearsheimer admits that nation-state is the sole behavioral entity in international relations; the main feature of international politics is the security contest among states under anarchy and military forces are of vital importance. On the other hand, he annotates the goal why a great power tries to acquire the maximum amount of power; he also redefines the concept of power to make it a measurable one andbrings the theory of geopolitics back to realism. However, because theory is the result of the times, it will bear the limitations of the times inevitably. Offensive realism is no exception. It cannot extricate itself from the following dilemmas: ontological limitation, parochialism of the origin of ideology and paradox of experiential explanation.Offensive realism is a kind of theory with profound practical contents that may guide foreign policy. Once America practices the principles of offensive realism in its global strategy, we will meet with many obstacles in implementing the strategy of peaceful rise. So China should improve her national security strategy according to the following principles: accelerating the course of building international identity, setting a good example as a responsible great power and developing means that can safeguard our strategic interests.