From: Rakesh Bhandari (rakeshb@stanford.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 12 2002 - 16:27:00 EST
PETER GOWAN A CALCULUS OF POWER John Mearsheimer's Tragedy of Great Power Politics disdains liberal-imperial rhetoric for a tough-minded theory of 'offensive realism'. Peter Gowan argues that, whatever its merits, the behaviour of states in the international system cannot be dissociated from the internal dynamics of the political orders they protect. http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR25003.shtml Looking through the book, I must say that I was left confused about the exact advantages from and precise defintion of the regional hegemony to which all great powers aspire first and foremost, according to Mearsheimer. Mearsheimer concludes with severe criticism of US foreign policy towards China; he argues for economic isolation which will strangle the growth rate of the potential hegemon. He does not believe wealth will render China democratic and peaceful; rather the economic growth which US engagement now propels will enable it to attempt a serious bid for regional hegemony which may set the context for wars more horrific than those that haunted the last century. rb
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