John Mearsheimer

And the $64,000 question is whether you think the United States and Iran, kind of colluding, can work together to prevent the Israelis from getting a second.

And the $64,000 question is whether you think the United States and Iran, kind of colluding, can work together to prevent the Israelis from getting a second.

Well, if you believe that it matters who leads the next administration, that's true.

Well, if you believe that it matters who leads the next administration, that's true.

Yeah, I'll make two sets of points there.

First of all, I believe that power is the currency of international relations, and by that I mean that states are deeply interested in the balance of power, and they're interested in maximizing how much power they control.

And the question is why states care so much about power.

In the international system, there's no higher authority.

So if you get into trouble and you dial 911, there's nobody at the other end.

In a system like that, you have no choice whatsoever.

but to figure out for yourself how best to protect yourself.

And the best way to protect yourself is to be powerful, to have as much power as you can possibly gain over all the other states in the system.

Therefore, states care about power because it enhances or maximizes their prospects for survival.

Second point I would make is that in the realist story or in my story, power is largely a function of material factors.

The two key building blocks of power are population size and wealth.

You want to have a lot of people and you want to be really wealthy.

Of course, this is why the United States is so powerful.

It has lots of people and it has lots of wealth.

China was not considered a great power until recently.

because it didn't have a lot of wealth.