We got high on our own supply.
For the US, "it was worse than a crime. It's a blunder"
Offensive realism:
You can never be sure of intentions of other states.
Why? You don't even know who will be in charge in five years.
Best to assume that all relationships are just temporary alliances driven by mutual self-interest.
Defensive realists hold the opposite of these beliefs.
U.S. didn't do enough to stop the rise of China in Mearsheimer's estimation.
Liberal Hegemony was based on the mistake that liberalism was universally shared, and that it was a more powerful & cohering force than nationalism.
Defensive said "wait and see". Offensive said "not so fast"
Both Obama & Trump campaigned against "Forever Wars" in Middle East, but deep state too strong for them to back out.
- Favored Vietnam War
- Favored Iraq War
- Opposed 2015 Iran nuclear agreement
People say Obama was too isolationist or soft but he was hawkish (e.g. Libya, Sirya
- Creating liberal democracy is hard.
- Not everyone wants to be a liberal democracy
- Undermines nationalism, the strongest ideology on the planet
- Social engineering creates enemies.
In contrast, offensive realism served U.S. interests first and foremost.
We regularly overthrew even democratic governments (e.g. Guatemala, Chile) if they weren't acting against U.S. interests
We'll potentially worry about US-China relations, Russia relations, a potential cold war over the Persian Gulf (China imports 25% of oil from there)
"It's worse than a crime, it's a blunder"