John Mearsheimer

It depends.

I would say just in the case of the Soviets, a lot of people describe the

Cold War as an ideological competition above all else.

It was communism versus liberal democracy or communism versus liberal capitalism, whatever.

I actually don't believe that.

I believe the Soviets were realist to the core.

I believe Stalin was a realist par excellence.

and that ideology did not matter much in Stalin's foreign policy.

And I believe if you look at Soviet foreign policy after World War II, you know, throughout the Cold War, they were realist to the core.

And I think in those days, the Americans were realists, right?

A lot of liberal ideology floating around out there, but the Americans were realists.

And I think one of the reasons you avoided

A shooting match between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1989 was because both sides, I think, understood basic balance of power logic.

U.S.-China competition is somewhat different.

First of all, the Chinese are realists to the core.

I've spent a lot of time in China.

I basically have rock and roll.

I'm basically a rock and roll star in China.

The Chinese... You're kind of a big deal in China.

I love it.