History and Neorealism

by Ernest R. May (Editor), Richard N. Rosecrance (Editor), Zara Steiner (Editor)

Neorealists argue that all states aim to acquire power and that state cooperation can therefore only be temporary, based on a common opposition to a third country. This view condemns the world to endless conflict for the indefinite future. Based upon careful attention to actual historical outcomes, this book contends that, while some countries and leaders have demonstrated excessive power drives, others have essentially underplayed their power and sought less position and influence than their comparative strength might have justified. Featuring case studies from across the globe, History and Neorealism examines how states have actually acted. The authors conclude that leadership, domestic politics, and the domain (of gain or loss) in which they reside play an important role along with international factors in raising the possibility of a world in which conflict does not remain constant and, though not eliminated, can be progressively reduced.

Genres: International Relations

406 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ernest Richard May was an American historian of international relations whose 14 published books include analyses of American involvement in World War I and the causes of the fall of France during World War II. His 1997 book The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis became the primary sources of the 2000 film Thirteen Days that viewed the crisis from the perspective of American political leaders. He served on the 9/11 Commission and highlighted the failures of the government intelligence agencies. May taught full time on the faculty of Harvard University for 55 years, until his death.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not deep or varied enough. The thesis of this book is that while the core neorealist premise is valid—that nation-states regardless of type of government all work to further their scope of power and control, thus creating never-ending political conflict the world over—nations nonetheless have in fact acted in greater accord than neorealism would project. The real-world examples provide don't dig deep enough or consider all the periods of history nor examples of power-driven conflict in non-nation-state forms of polity (tribal drama in Afghanistan from the 1700s to present day would have been a great case study on that) yet May's willingness to craft portrait of neorealism that runs contra to standard views of this epistemology—a view that in fact on the most basal level shows history to disprove the neorealist premise—is impressive. Condi Rice and her "Vulcans" should be studied in relation to what May has to say here because May's views both assert the basal views of the Bush Doctrine while overturning it in good part. If anything is to be learned here, it is that "American exceptionalism" is really "_________ exceptionalism" with any would-be imperial power inserting the name of its state in the blank.